Deliberate Evil

Nathanial Hawthorne, Daniel Webster, and the 1830 Murder of a Salem Slave Trader

"This is true crime at its most enthralling - prepare to be transported." (Terri Cheney, New York Times best-selling author of Manic)

The 1830 murder of wealthy slaver Joseph White shook all of Salem, Massachusetts. Soon the crime drew national attention when it was discovered that two of the conspirators came from Salem's influential Crowninshield family: a clan of millionaire shipowners, cabinet secretaries, and congressmen.

A prosecution team led by famed Massachusetts senator Daniel Webster made the case even more newsworthy. Meanwhile, young Salem native Nathaniel Hawthorne - who knew several of the accused - observed and wrote.

Here, using source materials not available previously, Edward J. Renehan Jr. provides a riveting narrative of the cold-blooded murder, intense investigations, scandal-strewn trials, and grim executions that dominated headlines nearly 200 years ago.

©2022 Edward J. Renehan Jr. (P)2022 Tantor

Please pronounce MA cities correctly

I liked how this book described the murder of Captain Joseph White in such deep and intricate detail. However, the narrator mispronounced several Massachusetts cities. Overall, I am really glad that we finally have a book that goes into so much detail about the murder of Captain White as well as the subsequent trial.