The Lincoln Deception

The Rockville Friends of the Library (FOL) will present David O. Stewart, who lives in Garret Park, MD, speaking about his novel, "The Lincoln Deception".  This novel takes off from a real event: the deathbed statement of John Bingham, the Ohio congressman who led the prosecution of Booth's eight co-conspirators in 1865.  As he was dying in 1900, Bingham told his doctor that during the Booth conspirators' trial, Mary Surratt confided a secret so explosive that it could destroy the republic.  Now, Bingham sighed,".. the secret will die with me.."  then he died.  Dr. James Fraser (our hero) finds Bingham's disclosure fascinating.  He sets off to unearth Bingham's secret through a treacherous path strewn with Booth descendants, surviving conspirators, aging Confederates, and a titan of global cotton trade.