"Everyone knows that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, but how many know that there was a previous, unsuccessful attempt on his life? Let narrator Scott Brick tell you all about it...Brick can make a nursery rhyme sound exciting, and he's on fire in this audiobook." — AudioFile Magazine
The bestselling authors of The First Conspiracy, which covers the secret plot against George Washington, now turn their attention to a little-known, but true story about a failed assassination attempt on President Lincoln
Everyone knows the story of Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865, but few are aware of the original conspiracy to kill him four years earlier in 1861, literally on his way to Washington, D.C., for his first inauguration. The conspirators were part of a pro-Southern secret society that didn't want an antislavery President in the White House. They planned an elaborate scheme to assassinate the brand new President in Baltimore as Lincoln's inauguration train passed through en route to the Capitol. The plot was investigated by famed detective Allan Pinkerton, who infiltrated the group with undercover agents, including one of the first female private detectives in America. Had the assassination succeeded, there would have been no Lincoln Presidency, and the course of the Civil War and American history would have forever been altered.
A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books
"The Lincoln Conspiracy is, despite its dark subject matter, relentlessly fun to read...It's an expertly crafted book that seems sure to delight readers with an interest in lesser-known episodes of American history." — NPR.org
"Filled with amazing American history, secret societies, incredible research, and a shocking conspiracy to murder Abraham Lincoln at the dawn of his presidency. A brilliant combination of edge of your seat history and superb storytelling."— James L. Swanson, bestselling author of Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
"Meltzer and Mensch maintain suspense despite the known outcome of the story, and convincingly counter claims that Pinkerton made the whole thing up for publicity purposes. Readers new to the "Baltimore Plot" will appreciate this comprehensive and well-written overview." — Publishers Weekly
The Lincoln Conspiracy
The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President—and Why It Failed
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Creators
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Awards
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Release date
May 5, 2020 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781250758644
- File size: 314437 KB
- Duration: 10:55:04
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Everyone knows that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, but how many know that there was a previous, unsuccessful attempt on his life? Let narrator Scott Brick tell you all about it. Historian, novelist, and television mystery show host Brad Meltzer once again roots through history to unearth secrets long hidden. And Brick acts as his voice to get the story out. It's no wonder. Brick can make a nursery rhyme sound exciting, and he's on fire in this audiobook. His enthralling voice builds excitement as he delivers the narrative on a Southern secret society that hates the new president's intolerance of slavery. To them, it's war even before the South detaches itself from the nation. Even though we know the first plot failed, the work is hypnotic and transports the listener to an America that was sharply divided by a president, a situation eerily familiar. M.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine -
March 30, 2020
Meltzer and Mensch (The First Conspiracy) deliver a solid recounting of the conspiracy to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln during his February 1861 railroad trip from Springfield, Ill., to Washington, D.C., and the successful efforts to foil it. Opening in dramatic fashion (“There’s a secret on this train”), the authors describe how “America’s first private detective,” Allan Pinkerton, and two undercover agents—a man and a woman—snuck Lincoln, who was disguised as the woman’s invalid brother and concealed in a sleeper berth, into Baltimore, Md., in the middle of the night, where he changed trains and immediately departed, thwarting “an underground network of secessionists” who expected him to arrive a day-and-a-half later. Flashbacks to Lincoln’s presidential campaign illuminate the tensions between pro- and anti-slavery activists, and the authors briskly detail the backgrounds of conspirators Cypriano Ferrandini, Baltimore’s “most powerful barber,” and 28-year-old socialite Otis K. Hillard, as well as the efforts of Pinkerton Agency detectives to gather intelligence on the white supremacist societies allegedly behind the plot. Meltzer and Mensch maintain suspense despite the known outcome of the story, and convincingly counter claims that Pinkerton made the whole thing up for publicity purposes. Readers new to the “Baltimore Plot” will appreciate this comprehensive and well-written overview.
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