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All the latest news about The Great Abolitionist!
Continue reading to find the most current news including a new blog to continue my blog series of scenes that did not make it into The Great Abolitionist, a prize nomination, wonderful feedback from readers, several new reviews, a recap of fall activities, additional news items, and a preview of upcoming events in 2025.
Town of Holliston, MA Selects The Great Abolitionist as its 2025 Community-Wide Read
I’m honored that the pretty Town of Holliston, MA has selected The Great Abolitionist as its 2025 community-wide read! The “One Book, One Holliston” program will include various events related to the time period and subject matter of the book. I’m scheduled to present The Great Abolitionist at an appearance at the Holliston Public Library sometime in Fall 2025.
What Didn’t Make it into The Great Abolitionist
Dropped Story 1: “A Widow’s Pension”
Since so many readers have written to tell me they’ve enjoyed The Great Abolitionist, I thought people would find it interesting to read a few scenes and stories that did NOT make it into the book – as with any work of history, revealing information sometimes has to be dropped for space and narrative reasons. For that reason, I have just posted my first blog in a series I’m calling “What Didn’t Make it into The Great Abolitionist.” These entries will be longer than a usual blog – think of them as mini-chapters or vignettes that offer additional insight into Charles Sumner’s character and influence.
In the first of the series (click here), “A Widow’s Pension,” Charles Sumner is instrumental in securing a Congressional pension for financially destitute former First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln. I’ll publish these “dropped stories” periodically and will let you know when I do so. Thanks again for your kind words about The Great Abolitionist, and I hope you enjoy the additional material. Let me know what you think!
Dropped Story 2: “A Charles Sumner Letter Electrifies The Nation”
In the second installment of the series, “What Didn’t Make it into The Great Abolitionist,” is “A Charles Sumner Letter Electrifies the Nation,” Sumner uses his influence to free Pennsylvania abolitionist Passmore Williamson from jail in one of the most highly celebrated episodes of the antislavery era.
Dropped Story 3: “A Midnight Treaty”
Charles Sumner’s moral courage and authenticity on the great issues of slavery and equal rights helped him exert influence on many other matters. The U.S. acquisition of “Russian America” – the massive territory that would become known as Alaska – was one of them.
Spring 2025 Upcoming Events
My upcoming Spring 2025 schedule will include appearances at: the Real Estate Bar Association (REBA) of Massachusetts annual conference; Boston’s West End Museum; the community of Stoneham, MA (all on The Great Abolitionist); and the City of Quincy, MA on American Treasures. More on these events in my June newsletter! Also, I am scheduling events for Fall 2025 and even Winter/Spring 2026, so if you are interested in hosting an event, please let me know as soon as possible at spuleo@aol.com. My schedule fills up fast. If you’d like to attend an event, please check my Events Schedule often to stay up to date! I hope to see you at an event.
A Few Wonderful Winter Appearances to Discuss The Great Abolitionist
Hingham, MA: It was cold and snowy outside, but I felt the warm welcome from the 45 or so audience members who braved the elements to attend my presentation on The Great Abolitionist at the Hingham (MA) Cemetery’s “Dead of the Winter Cultural Series” (I love the name!). The event took place at the cemetery’s beautifully renovated Ames Chapel, which includes the gorgeous stained glass window that you see in the photos. I’m shown in the group photo with (from left): Kathy Detwiler, owner of Buttonwood Books and Toys, who handled book sales for the evening; Libby King, cemetery board member, event organizer, and head of the series; Larry Lindner, former board member and former chair of the Dead of the Winter committee; Stephen Jiranek, president of the Board of Directors; and board member Steve Hines. It was the dead of winter, but thanks to Hingham for a lively discussion!
Boston, MA: With the downtown Boston skyline as a backdrop, I was honored to speak about The Great Abolitionist at the prestigious Union Club’s annual Lincoln Birthday Dinner, where approximately 80 attendees enjoyed an evening of history and good conversation. The Union Club was established in 1863 by prominent Bostonians who expressed full-throated support for the Union cause during the Civil War – U.S. Senator Charles Sumner, the subject of The Great Abolitionist, was among its members! I’m shown here with Maureen Marcucci, Chair of the club’s Civil War Committee, and one of the key organizers of the event. Thanks to my wife Kate for handling book sales, and my sister-in-law, Pat Doyle, for the photos – and of course, to the Union Club for inviting me to this fantastic evening!
Boston Public Library: It’s always a treat and an honor to speak at the historic and beautiful Boston Public Library, and this winter was no exception! My thanks to the more than 50 enthusiastic attendees who turned out on a blustery evening; to the entire library staff, especially Reference Librarian Diane Parks, who organized the event; and to Trident Books, which handled book sales.I particularly liked the questions from the crowd, and was grateful for the many people who came through the signing line after to say they truly enjoyed the presentation. I’ve spoken at the BPL numerous times. It’s a very special experience to appear at one of America’s preeminent libraries.
Sudbury, MA: I enjoyed a Sunday afternoon in Sudbury, MA, speaking about The Great Abolitionist at the Goodnow Library’s Winter Cultural Series, sponsored by the library’s Friends group. We had a freewheeling discussion during the Q&A session after my presentation! I’m shown here with Claudia Brandon, a member of the Friends, who helped organize the event and was my main contact throughout the planning. Thanks to Sudbury and the Goodnow Friends group!
St. Martin’s Press Nominates The Great Abolitionist for Prestigious History Prize!
I’m very honored that my publisher, St. Martin’s Press, nominated The Great Abolitionist for the prestigious Mark Lynton History Prize, one of three awards given as part of the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize administered by the Columbia University School of Journalism and Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism. The annual award is given to a book “of history on any subject that best combines intellectual or scholarly distinction with felicity of expression.” My simple translation – a book that’s extremely well-sourced and well-researched, and reads like a novel!
I was disappointed to learn that The Great Abolitionist was not selected for the short list of finalists – but I’m so pleased and honored that St. Martin’s, which publishes many history titles, saw fit to nominate the book. And I’m filled with gratitude about your support for TGA! Win some, lose some, for sure – when it comes to thoughtful and loyal readers, you make me feel like a winner each day! Thank you for that.
Reader Responses and Reviews for The Great Abolitionist!
I’ve mentioned numerous times before how grateful I am to receive reader responses on my work. I’m happy to say that, in the few months since it was published this past April, The Great Abolitionist has generated more emails from readers than any other book I’ve written. It’s been great to hear from readers across the country, many of whom have granted me permission to use some or all of their comments on my What Readers Are Saying page. Word-of-mouth is such an important marketing tool in the book business, so these comments from readers are as important as any review. I thank you so much for taking the time to voice your opinions – please keep them coming! In addition, The Great Abolitionist has generated numerous reader reviews at Netgalley.com and Goodreads, places that book readers turn to discover which books their fellow readers are recommending and enjoying! I hope you check them out!
The Great Abolitionist has also picked up some important online publication reviews in the last several months. I’ve mentioned starred reviews by both Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly, as well as a fine review in American Purpose magazine.
Now, a few more influential online book and history sites have added reviews:
I’m honored that BookBrowse.com featured The Great Abolitionist as one of its “Top Pick Books” this summer, which included a front-and-center mention on the home page, an excellent review by Valerie Morales, and a “Beyond the Book” article entitled “Is Separate Equal? The Sarah Roberts Case,” which Sumner argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 1849 (the Roberts article is now available only to subscribers). You can read the fine review here. My thanks to BookBrowse for this selection.
I’m also grateful for Tim Talbot’s thoughtful and comprehensive review in Emerging Civil War. In part, Tim’s review reads: “Puleo skillfully covers Charles Sumner’s extensive efforts and accomplishments on behalf of racial equality—before, during, and after the Civil War… The Great Abolitionist is a welcome addition to the abolitionist historiography. Updating Sumner’s biography with sources and interpretations that have emerged since Dr. [David] Donald’s two-volumes a half century ago clarifies and reemphasizes Sumner’s importance to American politics during the nation’s most trying era.” You can read the full review here!
I really appreciate the review from Ed at the Unabridged Bookstore, which reads in part, “this compelling, rich, biographical history bears witness to Sumner’s profound contributions to creating a more perfect union, and is essential reading for anyone interested in the Civil War and Reconstruction.” Enjoy his full review here.
And Brendan from History Nerds United notes in his review that “The Great Abolitionist is a wonderful biography of a man who had an unassailable passion for abolition but probably would not be the first person you’d invite to a dinner.” Indeed, Brendan has it right – and Sumner himself would probably not argue with the observation! Check out Brendan’s review here.
I’m pleased to say that we have collected these and other reviews for The Great Abolitionist all in one area of my website for your reading pleasure (just scroll down to the “Reviews” tab on the Book page.)
Two History Podcasts on The Great Abolitionist That I Think You’ll Enjoy!
I’ve been doing more podcasts lately, and this Fall was no exception with two interesting podcasts to discuss The Great Abolitionist. The discussion and expansive format provide an opportunity to dig into the book and history, which I really enjoy. Both of these are about an hour long, so I hope you can carve out some time to listen. I think you’ll find them entertaining and enlightening (and let me know what you think!)
I enjoyed my conversation with Steven Spierer on Talk Radio One’s “The Steven Spierer Show” from Los Angeles. Steve asked great questions and offered some of his own commentary on TGA, which I appreciated. To listen, click here.
I was a guest on Boise State University Public Radio as part of a series called “Scandalized.” My episode was titled Blood on the Senate Floor and, of course, was all about the caning of Charles Sumner. The podcast includes interviews and commentary from others, including BSU professors (and show hosts) Charlie Hunt and Jaclyn Kettler. Click here and scroll down to Oct. 14, 2024, to listen and enjoy!
Summer 2024 Recap
Four Virtual Events that were a Blast!
I thoroughly enjoyed two very special history podcasts that had me as a guest to discuss The Great Abolitionist. Both are about an hour long, so I hope you can carve out some time to listen and enjoy. Ithink you’ll find them entertaining and enlightening.
The first event allowed people from around the country to view my appearance on the History Happy Hour, hosted by Chris Anderson and Rick Beyer (shown here). We had a lively question-and-answer discussion that you can watch on Facebook or YouTube. History Happy Hour describes itself as a virtual bar where “history is always on tap.” I had a great time doing this show!
In addition, I was also interviewed about The Great Abolitionist by host James Gardner (shown) on the “Your History, Your Story” podcast. James did a great job setting the stage and asking insightful questions about the book and the writing process. You can listen on YouTube and Apple podcasts.
One of my favorite events as part The Great Abolitionist launch was the virtual appearance hosted by the New England Historical Genealogical Society (NEHGS) American Ancestors series. The event was recorded and edited by NEHGS partner, the WGBH Forum. I’m glad to report that it is now available for viewing on YouTube and also available on the WGBH website.
Lastly, the Boston.com Book Club selected The Great Abolitionist as its May 2024 read, a wonderful honor. This was followed by a virtual discussion with Totsie McGonagle of Buttonwood Books, which led to a story by the Globe’s Annie Jonas entitled, “4 Takeaways from book club’s The Great Abolitionist discussion.” You can read the story here.
Sumner Over the Shoulder
This was one of my favorite summertime photos! Thanks to my nephew, Jackson Keohane, who was reading (and enjoying!) The Great Abolitionist, for grabbing this “Sumner-over-the-shoulder” photo while he was traveling through Harvard Square in Cambridge. The Sumner statue behind Jackson is prominent and not far from the entrance to Sumner’s alma mater. Thanks, Jackson!
Thanks for a Wonderful Spring 2024 Book Tour for
The Great Abolitionist!
Where to begin? It’s been a whirlwind and exhilarating Spring, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of The Great Abolitionist book tour! I hope these additional photos in this section give you a real sense of the excitement and enthusiasm of my TGA events. They are in no particular order, but serve to highlight an amazing Spring speaking season. I also wanted to offer my thanks to the following organizations which helped me launch the new book (note – a special thanks to bookstores follows below!)
My gratitude to so many organizations for making The Great Abolitionist launch so special!
I have thanked and continue to thank so many organizations, bookstore staffers, librarians, podcasters, moderators –and most of all, YOU, dear readers – for a memorable spring book tour for The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union. As an author, I could not have asked for a better launch! The photos in this introduction show just a few of the many highlights from the tour.
My 20-plus events over this period (most live, a few virtual, and a few podcasts) took place in libraries, country clubs, bookstores, senior citizen centers, TV studios, and hotel conference rooms. The overall response from hundreds of readers was truly gratifying, and the dozens upon dozens of questions I received during presentations were impressive and insightful. This tour reminded me again (not that I really need reminding) how much I enjoy meeting and interacting with readers. Special thanks to all of the organizations listed below:
*The Friends of the Hull (MA) Public Library, Buttonwood Books, and the beautiful Nantasket Beach Resort for sponsoring my launch event! *The Andover (MA) Book Store and the historic and majestic Memorial Hall Library in Andover for a memorable setting and a great audience. *The Marshfield (MA) Council on Aging for a jam-packed event! *The American Inspiration Series from American Ancestors/New England Historic and Genealogical Society who partnered with WGBH (public broadcasting) for an enjoyable virtual event! *The Tufts Memorial Library in Weymouth, MA for a spectacular “hometown event” with nearly 100 participants. *The Winchester (MA) Public Library, a beautiful place to do a presentation and amazing lovers of history attended!
*The James Library and Center for the Arts in Norwell, MA, a gem on Boston’s South Shore and a wonderfully engaged group of members! *The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, CT, which sponsored a spirited virtual event moderated by long-time Connecticut journalist and television host, Duby McDowell. *The Reading (MA) Public Library, whose attendees made me think – and think again! – with their outstanding questions! *The Barnes & Noble store in Hingham, MA, which hosted a wonderful Saturday afternoon signing event (my 690th as an author!). It’s my “home” B&N, and I was thrilled that so many family members and friends stopped by! *The Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford (MA) Public Library, where more than 70 people showed up to discuss The Great Abolitionist. Medford is a city with a great history, and it showed! *The Friends of the Wolfeboro (NH) Public Library Book & Author Luncheon. I was thrilled to participate in this memorable event, along with New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner, to kick off the Wolfeboro/Lakes Region summer season! What a fantastic event! More than 150 enthusiastic readers turned out for the library’s big summer fundraiser.
*The Forbes House Museum and the Milton (MA) Public Library, where an engaged crowd of readers and history-lovers attended for this special event. I spent some quality time at the Forbes House while researching Voyage of Mercy, and the Town of Milton made Voyage its community-wide read a few years ago. *The Robbins, Library in Arlington, MA, where a great crowd braved scorching heat to make my final in-person Spring TGA event very special!
A special salute to bookstores for their help with launch!
I can’t thank bookstores enough for their tireless efforts to support events and authors! I’m especially grateful for all the stores who helped make The Great Abolitionist a success this spring.
Photos in this section show me at a wonderful display of my books at The Country Bookseller in Wolfeboro, NH (thanks to owner Autumn Siders!); owner Kathy Detwiler and Totsie McGonagle of Buttonwood Books and Toys (Cohasset, MA) enjoying a moment at my Hull presentation behind a display of my new book (Buttonwood handled several events for me this spring!); Lauren Tiedermann (holding my book), co-owner of Book Ends in Winchester, MA, with me behind a stack of TGAs; Harriet Lyons (right) of Whitelam Books in Reading, MA shown with me and local historian librarian Jocelyn Gould of the Reading Public Library; Hingham Barnes & Noble’s Ashley O’Regan and I each holding a copy of The Great Abolitionist; and the wonderful team at the Andover Bookstore shown below with me from left: Chris Rose, Karen Harris, Caroline Buchta, and Sarah Klock. My thanks also to Storybook Cove bookstore in Hanover, MA, for managing my Weymouth event; Maxima Book Center in Lexington, MA for handling my Arlington, MA event, and in Cambridge, MA for supplying books for my American Ancestors virtual event. Finally, a personal photo from Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, VT, an independent bookstore that didn’t specifically manage one of my events this spring, but, I’m happy to say, is carrying The Great Abolitionist. That’s my niece, Katie Rose Logan, proudly displaying her copy! Thanks to all of these bookstores for being so good to me!
The Great Abolitionist has a great team supporting it
(and supporting me)!
I’ve said it often (as have many authors) – writing may be a solitary act, but “authoring” is not. Researching, writing, editing, and marketing a book requires that an author have a strong support structure, a team to call on to provide encouragement, expertise, and excitement. I was so fortunate to rely on so many talented people who helped bring you The Great Abolitionist (several of whom have been a critical part of assisting me with other books as well). I want to recognize them here – with all gratitude and humility – for the great work they’ve done and continue to do:
My friend Charlotte Hannan, shown with me at the Barnes & Noble event, will be entering her senior year at Harvard, and assisted me with the research of TGA. Her work was thorough, intuitive, and exemplary and always right on the money. I’ve known Charlotte for a long time and have always said, “she works so hard and cares so much.” Truer than ever with her work on TGA!
It’s appropriate that I’m holding open the TGA back cover flap while standing with my friend, Erin Leone! Erin, a talented photographer with her own business and a rising senior at George Washington University, took my new jacket photo (which I love). The photo also appears on all social media sites and TGA marketing materials (including on my website and at the top of this newsletter)! You can see more of Erin’s outstanding work at Erin Leone Photography.
My dear friends, Paula Hoyt and Ellen Keefe, have been with me on my author journey since the beginning – and have been amazing friends since long before that! How blessed I am to have their love and support in so many ways – but most specifically, as tough, talented “advance readers” of my TGA manuscript (and virtually every other manuscript too). I think I submit very clean manuscripts to my publisher, and Paula and Ellen are two big reasons why (my wife Kate is also, but more on her soon). They are smart and have become experts at spotting inconsistencies, omissions, grammar errors, typos, or saying “something just doesn’t sound right” in the manuscript. Ellen and Paula also do a great job acting as ambassadors for my books, always providing encouragement, and being there to offer suggestions and advice if I need them (and sometimes, even if I don’t – lol).
You may be noticing a trend here – It’s always a massive plus when you have great friends who are also talented! Such is also the case with Sue Hannan (shown here with me at B&N), who handles marketing and expertly manages content and navigation for my website. I’m biased, but I think it’s one of the best! Sue takes great pride in keeping content fresh and dynamic (as evidenced by her rapid implementation of the new TGA section of my website), and also helps spread the word through social media. Her ideas, creativity, and excellent marketing skills help me connect with readers in the best possible way!
When I wrote her acknowledgment in The Great Abolitionist, I referred to my friend and sister-in-law, Pat Doyle, as the unsung hero in my author life. Since the beginning, she has been there for me, offering assistance and encouraging words always. She has attended a huge number of my nearly 700 author appearances, and has contributed many wonderful photos to my website, social media pages, and these newsletters (including a large number in this issue!). She also provides a helping hand in ways too numerous to list – she is simply always ready to help. I am grateful for her friendship, love, enthusiasm, interest, talent, and bedrock support.
The love and friendship my wife Kate and I have shared for more than four decades is my greatest joy and most profound blessing. As I said in my TGA acknowledgment, she is the first to hear my ideas, the first to offer insights, the first to read my manuscripts, the first to know when things are going smoothly or if I’ve hit a rough patch. She is talented, inspirational, and helpful beyond words – I’m immensely proud of her – and during this TGA tour, she was always there — selling books, greeting readers, taking photos, and brightening every room she entered. She is, simply, “present on every page” of my writing and of my life. The Great Abolitionist is dedicated to Kate from the bottom of my most grateful heart.
And thanks to these authors and historians for their generous blurbs…
Also, I have received several wonderful “back cover” blurbs that you’ll see (in their entirety or in part) when the book comes out – but I thought you’d like a sneak preview now.
I am honored to have thoughtful and generous blurbs from some outstanding non-fiction authors and historians (James O’Toole, Chris Gorham, Bill Kole, Eric Jay Dolin, Gregg Olsen), as well as two New York Times bestselling fiction authors (William Martin and Dennis Lehane) who often delve into historical settings and narratives in their novels. I’m thankful to all of these authors who took the time to read the book and offer their great endorsements.
- Dennis Lehane, author of Small Mercies: “Stephen Puleo’s masterful account of Charles Sumner, a prickly, conflicted paradox of an American giant, is told with verve and gusto. It’s a vibrant, important story whose echoes still reverberate in our current day. A wonderful read.”
- James M. O’Toole, University Historian and Clough Professor of History Emeritus at Boston College: “Charles Sumner, a lifelong crusader for human rights, has not been the subject of a comprehensive biography for more than fifty years. Stephen Puleo fills that gap with this deeply researched and dramatic retelling of Sumner’s courageous life and work.”
- William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Lincoln Letter and December ’41: “Sometimes, a giant needs a little help. He passes through history, leaving huge footprints that are filled by time and covered over by events. Well, in Stephen Puleo’s superb new biography, Massachusetts Abolitionist Charles Sumner gets all the help he needs. In prose that is perceptive and propulsive, in scenes that are powerful and dramatic, Puleo brings Sumner vividly to life. Once more, the Great Abolitionist drives the momentous events of the mid-Nineteenth Century. Once more, the strength of his character, the intensity of his personality, and the honor of his crusade shine before us. And once more, Stephen Puleo delivers a book that will captivate the general reader and reward the serious historian, too.”
- Gregg Olsen, New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Amish Wife and If You Tell: “When it comes to impeccable research – the kind that surprises and never rehashes – no one does it better than Stephen Puleo. The Great Abolitionist is a literary and historical triumph and is sure to be on many year-end “best” lists in 2024.”
- William J. Kole, veteran journalist, author of THE BIG 100: The New World of Super-Aging : “Nearly two centuries on, Charles Sumner’s name still drops loudly in Boston, yet few appreciate the enormity of his impact. Stephen Puleo’s The Great Abolitionist is at once a revelation and an appeal to our better angels to heed the lessons Sumner’s example can teach us.”
- Eric Jay Dolin, author of Left for Dead and Black Flags, Blue Waters: “Charles Sumner was a principled man of unshakable conviction, who fought the good, noble, and heroic fight against slavery, and he deserves to be remembered as a great statesman and one of the foremost champions of civil rights. He also deserves a compelling and wonderfully-written biography, which is what Stephen Puleo has provided.”
- Christopher C. Gorham, author THE CONFIDANTE: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America: “In THE GREAT ABOLITIONIST we feel the cold wind in the cobbled streets of mid -19th century Boston and hear the stifled sobs at Abraham Lincoln’s deathbed in April 1865. The subject of Stephen Puleo’s eighth book is Charles Sumner, a lawyer and U.S. Senator who was a leading voice of antislavery during the tumultuous two decades before the Civil War. As the nation was adding Texas, rushing west for gold, and vainly seeking a compromise on slavery to avoid war, Puleo paints Sumner’s morality as a constant. We are in the courtroom as he argues against the inherent inequality of segregated schools (a century before Brown v. Board of Education), and the drawing room as Sumner persuades the sixteenth president to publicly stand for abolition. Sumner’s ideals cost him friendships and resulted in a bloody assault on the floor of the senate by a pro-slavery congressman. Puleo’s rich biographical history is a perfectly timed reminder that to survive, our union needs figures with the courage to stand for core ideals which cannot be compromised.”
Early Podcasts and Cable TV
I’ve done some early podcasts and cable TV shows for The Great Abolitionist, with others being scheduled. Here’s a couple for you to enjoy when you have the time. Booknotes + on C-Span with the legendary Brian Lamb – I had great fun on this podcast fielding questions from the man who has done this show for years and has his own inimitable style. The discussion (audio only) is about an hour. Don’t be deceived (or deterred!) by the notation that the interview is two hours – I was on Lamb’s show for my book, The Caning, several years ago, so the producers ran the podcasts back-to-back (each about an hour). Enjoy the audio interviewhere!
Author Talk with Jim Dorman on Abington (MA) Community Access and Media – The Town of Abington, which recently selected my book, The Caning, as its town-wide read, enjoys books and reading. I was thrilled to be a guest on Jim Dorman’s “Author Talk” show to discuss The Great Abolitionist for one of the first times! We recorded this show in March – before the book came out – in anticipation of my appearance at the James Library and Center for the Arts in nearby Norwell, MA on May 21. (See more information on this event below.) My thanks to Jim and Executive Director Kevin Tocci for this fine production, which you can watch here.
If You Like Audiobooks
I’m very excited that The Great Abolitionist is also available in audiobook form from virtually all major platforms, including Audible, Google Play, Kobo, B&N, etc. You may see a difference in price or format. You can listen to a small sample of the narrator, Jonathan Yen, at this link – I think he has a strong and dramatic voice! The cover image is a bit different than the print version, but I really like it! 
My Blog on Sumner’s First Major Anti-Slavery Speech
As I say in my author’s note to begin this blog, I adapted this story from The Great Abolitionist because I thought it was important to highlight how Charles Sumner differed from other abolitionists. Sumner’s belief was that freedom and equality were America’s birthrights, and racists laws were a perversion of those ideals. He saw the government’s tolerance and support for the growth of slavery in the 1840s and 1850s as an ignorant misreading of the country’s founding documents, not an inevitable condition flowing from them. As one of his congressional eulogists declared, Sumner “believed in his country, in her unity, her grandeur, her ideas, and her destiny.” Let me know what you think!
THE GREAT ABOLITIONIST: Charles Sumner’s Fight for a More Perfect Union
The first full biography of Charles Sumner, abolitionist U.S. senator from Massachusetts, in more than a half-century!
I’m thrilled to finally announce the topic of my next book (my eighth!) – the first full biography of Charles Sumner, abolitionist U.S. senator from Massachusetts, in more than 50 years. I think you’ll truly enjoy THE GREAT ABOLITIONIST: Charles Sumner’s Fight for a More Perfect Union, which will be published by St. Martin’s Press on April 23, 2024. You can pre-order it here.
Many readers will recall that I first dealt with Sumner (briefly) in my book, A City So Grand (2010), and later more extensively in The Caning (2012), the latter of which essentially concludes with the onset of the Civil War. During the research and writing of those books, I realized what a force Sumner was throughout the 1850s and 1860s, and into the 1870s, and knew I needed to research and explore his achievements and contributions further. I also needed to learn more about this complex man.
Now, with the research and writing completed, and with The Great Abolitionist on the way to publication, I feel as if I know Sumner as well as anyone, and I feel confident in saying this: Charles Sumner is among a handful of the most influential non-Presidents in American history (and far more influential than many presidents) – standing alongside Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Susan B. Anthony.
For me, this book is a first – my first biography! And actually, I’m calling it a “biographical history,” since Sumner’s life encompassed the life of the nation during this period. He stood tall and ramrod straight at the center of events that millions of Americans would experience in his era, and then learn about and study for 175 years (and counting).
His contributions were everywhere: his unrelenting efforts to abolish slavery and fulfill the nation’s promise of civil, political, and racial equality; his expertise in foreign affairs that helped the United States avoid a potentially devastating war with England even as the country battled the Confederacy; his close working relationship with President Abraham Lincoln (Sumner was at Lincoln’s bedside the night the President was assassinated); and his influence upon virtually every major debate and issue that the country tackled in the decade prior to the Civil War, the war itself, and during Reconstruction.
The Conscience of the North
For a quarter of a century, including twenty-three consecutive years in the Senate from 1851 until his death (which encompassed a three-year absence as he recovered from his caning injuries), it was Charles Sumner – not Lincoln, not William Lloyd Garrison, not Frederick Douglass, Lydia Maria Child, or anyone else – who was the nation’s most passionate, vociferous, unrelenting, and inexhaustible anti-slavery and equal rights champion.
Before and during the Civil War, at a great personal sacrifice, he was the conscience of the North and the strongest and most influential voice in favor of abolition. Throughout Reconstruction, no one championed the rights of the emancipated Freedmen more than Charles Sumner. Through the force of his words and his will, he first moved his state, and then the nation, toward the twin goals of abolitionism – which he achieved in his lifetime – and equal rights, which eluded him and the country, but for which he fought literally until the day he died.
In so doing, he laid the cornerstone arguments that civil rights advocates would build upon over the next century as the country strove to achieve equality among the races. To Sumner, the two concepts of abolitionism and equal rights were inseparable and could not be untethered. Freedom and equality embodied the founding principles of the United States as stated in the Declaration of Independence, and in the Constitution’s guarantee of a republican form of government; only by enshrining these rights forever could the United States survive. This view was first considered radical and unworkable, dismissed as the ranting of rabble-rousers on the fringe – positions at first not held even by Lincoln and other anti-slavery Republicans.
But Sumner’s influence gradually took hold, permeated the party’s dogma, and finally became the prevalent and official view of Lincoln and the nation.
A Biographical History Since Sumner’s Story and America’s Story are Intertwined
I call The Great Abolitionist a “biographical history,” since Sumner stood tall and ramrod straight at the center of events that millions of Americans would experience in his era, and then learn about and study for the next 175 years (and counting).
These include the Fugitive Slave Law; the Kansas-Nebraska Act; the battle for the soul of Kansas that became a symbol of abolitionist and pro-slavery tensions; the founding of the Republican Party; Lincoln’s election in 1860; the secession of Southern states; as head of the Radical Republicans throughout the war; the Trent Affair in which Sumner was the primary force in averting war with England; the Emancipation Proclamation, which he repeatedly beseeched Lincoln to issue and whose language he helped shape; Lincoln’s remarkable and unexpected re-election in 1864; the President’s assassination; the crafting of Reconstruction policy; the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson; the Reconstruction amendments; as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during the administration of Ulysses S. Grant; and as the architect of a proposed sweeping civil rights bill that called for an end to all government and private sector discrimination.
As the nation literally fought for its life, Charles Sumner influenced, altered, and often defined America’s course – in the moment and for the future. In the face of repeated insults, ridicule, personal setbacks, and a devastating physical attack, Charles Sumner’s voice and his ideas moved a nation, slowly, even grudgingly at first, but eventually with a surety that accompanies righteousness.
Sumner Believed in America
For Charles Sumner, freedom and equality were America’s national birthright, and slavery and racist laws were a perversion of those ideals. He saw the government’s tolerance and support for the growth of slavery as an ignorant misreading of the country’s founding documents, not an inevitable condition flowing from them.
In the end, Charles Sumner truly believed in America. He believed in it as he held up a mirror to its flaws and challenged the country to live up to its ideals. He believed in it as he ferociously battled slavery and inequality. He believed in it as he endured and recovered from a vicious beating for speaking his mind. As one Congressional eulogist declared, Sumner “believed in his country, in her unity, her grandeur, her ideas, and her destiny.”
Dour and disconsolate as he often appeared, he was an idealist at heart. He told all who would listen that his often lonely fight to create a more perfect union was a burden well worth shouldering – that the fulfilled promise of America could literally change the world.
The Great Abolitionist Is Sweeping In Scope and I’m Confident You’ll Enjoy the Story!
You’ll find that The Great Abolitionist is sweeping in its scope, but rather than focusing on Sumner’s every movement and utterance between childhood and death, this “biographical history” traces the arc of his antislavery and equal rights leadership as he stood at the center of the storm that swept across the nation during the 1850s and 1860s.
From the moment Charles Sumner stepped onto the public stage, he made his fight America’s fight. I’ve tried to tell the story — Sumner’s story, the nation’s story — with the same fast-paced narrative style and an exciting story arc that you’ve become accustomed to in my previous books.
If you’ve enjoyed my other work, I believe you will enjoy The Great Abolitionist, too!
I’ll have more to say about The Great Abolitionist in the future, so please stay tuned! Meanwhile, check out my blog for a few more insights about Charles Sumner’s courage and authenticity. And be sure to schedule some reading time for early next year!
Photos show Charles Sumner in 1855 and 1859; a painting of his caning attack by South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks; Sumner later in life with his dear friend, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Sumner’s deathbed scene, where he is surrounded by friends, including former slave Frederick Douglass; a magazine cover announcing his death in which former slaves are depicted paying him tribute; and his statues at Harvard and on Boston’s Public Garden.
“The groundbreaking biography of a forgotten civil rights hero”
As I mentioned, I couldn’t be happier with the description of The Great Abolitionist from MacMillan Publishers, the parent company of my publisher, St. Martin’s Press. (Check out the full notice here.)
At this point in the publication process, I am reviewing final page proofs (and they look great!), and we are awaiting “back-cover” blurbs from other authors and historians who kindly agreed to offer advance comments on the book. In upcoming newsletters, I’ll continue to update you on progress as the exciting publication date approaches!
Also, I already have several speaking events in the works for The Great Abolitionist for next May and June – some are finalized; others are in process. You can always check out my schedule on my website’s “Events” page and I’ll have additional updates on these appearances as time goes on. If you’re an organization that would like to schedule an event, I’d urge you to contact me soon at spuleo@aol.com.
And one other thing related to the upcoming book… I’m asked often about how I begin and organize research. With the Sumner biography, I realized early on that, because the material on him was so voluminous, I definitely needed a large and easy-to-refer-to, year-by-year timeline of events, and potential scenes and chapters. I do a version of this for all of my books, but the Sumner bio required a longer timeline because of the nearly 25 years that he influenced (and was influenced by) the major events occurring in the United States.
So, I’ve included a photo of my “big board” here that enabled me to stay anchored during the research and writing of The Great Abolitionist. Zoom in if you’d like to check out my early research thoughts (and apologies if you have a tough time reading my writing — sometimes I’m scribbling fast!). This is basically how the process starts for me!
The Caning of Charles Sumner (and my book, The Caning) in the news – and beyond…
I’m pleased to have been asked to share my expertise and take part in several activities, interviews, and (upcoming) events related to my book The Caning, and to the caning of Charles Sumner (this dramatic episode will also be included in The Great Abolitionist). Here’s a sampling of five collaborations:
The Bill of Rights Institute Features My Lesson Plan on The Caning
I’m excited that the Virginia-based Bill of Rights Institute features my summary and student lesson plan on Charles Sumner and Preston Brooks based on my 2012 book, The Caning: The Assault the Drove America to Civil War. Brooks, a congressman from South Carolina, was Sumner’s assailant in the highly publicized event that The Caning analyzes. The lesson highlighted by the Bill of Rights Institute includes the outline of the event, a summary of the time period, review questions, AP (Advanced Placement) test practice questions, and numerous primary and secondary sources. Of course, the attack on Sumner will be included as part of The Great Abolitionist, but my new book will also cover the full breadth of Sumner’s contributions during the run-up to the Civil War, the war itself, and Reconstruction. If you or a student you know is interested in this dramatic era of American history, or specifically on this astonishing event that put the country irrevocably on the path to Civil War, I urge you to check out the lesson on the Bill of Rights Institute website and let me know what you think!
Recent U.S. Senate Dust-up Prompts Interview with Boston.com/Boston Globe Reporter
The recent U.S Senate dust-up between Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin and Teamster President Sean O’Brien prompted Boston Globe/Boston.com reporter Molly Farrar to reach out and ask me if we could draw any comparisons with the caning of Charles Sumner in May 1856. “No,” I replied, despite some in the media who attempted to do so. The recent skirmish (barely an event) was over quickly, involved words only, and I think will be little remembered. The caning of Charles Sumner, on the other hand, was one of the most shocking and provocative events in American history. It transformed the whole debate over slavery from an intellectual, religious, moral discussion to a visceral one, helped elect Abraham Lincoln as President in 1860, and put North and South on an inexorable road to Civil War. Check out the interview here
Abington, MA Selects The Caning as its community-wide read for 2024!
I’m thrilled that the Abington (MA) Public Library has selected The Caning as its “Abington Reads” choice for 2024! If you want to mark your calendars early, I’ll be appearing at the Abington Public Library (600 Gliniewicz Way) on March 14, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the book. You can find out more here. Just scroll down a bit and get the full info on this event!
