What are you reading now?

[Don1946]

(01-13-2014 10:59 AM)Ed Steers Wrote:  Dear Mr. Doyle, Not sure I am using the proper procedure to comment, but here goes. I did not consider the Catholic Conspiracy to have any validity at all, and felt Bill Hanchett covered it thoroughly ("Lincoln Murder Conspiracies"). ... I remember reading in the Rufus King papers (King was Lincoln's representative to the Papal States) that part of the negotiation to return John Surratt was that the U.S. reciprocate should the Papal States request extradition, AND that should the Republicans overrun the Papal States the U.S. would would grant asylum to the Pope. If true, it seems strange that the Pope would want to see Lincoln killed. In any event, the Catholic Conspiracy has long been demolished and Bill Hachett did a credible job. In addition to the two books already mentioned I suggest you also read Alfred Isacsson"s "The Travels. Arrest, and Trial of John Surratt." It is quite good.

Thanks Edward Steers, I got so much out of your book, I hope my obsession with the Catholic conspiracy angle did not distort my very high regard for all you did. Let me clarify again, I don't believe in the Catholic conspiracy theory, but I'm really interested in it because it played into a view of the world at the time that may now seem hare-brained but it resonated with people then. Part of this was because during the war the CSA tried to appeal to Catholics and sent envoys to the Vatican to try to get Pope Pius IX to endorse the southern cause. Pio Nono, as the Italians called him, was the arch enemy of republicanism and a thoroughgoing reactionary.
I had not heard of the pope's request for asylum in the US. That is fascinating. I would think he would have sought asylum in France, which was defending Rome at the time or maybe Vienna. In any case I agree it is preposterous to believe Pius IX started the war or organized the conspiracy. What interested people at the time was that the Surratts, Mudd, and apparently Booth were devout Catholics and that did indicate political ideology and possible motive.

I especially liked you taking on the "Mudd was innocent" crowd. Some of you will remember Roger Mudd the TV newscaster who was a descendant of Mudd. I think you left little doubt about his guilt and you did a nice job of gently rebuking the honorable Senator Hoyer for trying to legislate Mudd's innocence.
I think the title of your book is haunting and you laced the story with references to the moon throughout.
--Don