The Tragedy of a Young Commonwealth

Scandal always attracts a crowd. When Jereboam Beauchamp murdered Kentucky attorney general Solomon P. Sharp in 1825, an event popularly known as the "Kentucky Tragedy," Americans, and Kentuckians in particular, were both shocked and fascinated with the macabre tale. Given the American public's zeal for sensation, the "Kentucky Tragedy" became the basis of dozens of novels and plays composed by some of the country's most esteemed literary talents including Edgar Allan Poe and William Gilmore Simms.
 
Most of what is known about the Kentucky Tragedy is drawn from three documents: the published proceedings of Beauchamp's murder trial, Beauchamp's written confession, and a vindication of Solomon Sharp written by his devoted brother, Dr. Leander Sharp. Subsequent information about the event comes from oral histories that propagated over time, but the subjective accounts of the murder and trial were often exaggerated. In Murder and Madness: The Myth of the Kentucky Tragedy, author and historian Matthew G. Schoenbachler revisits this once famous and still curious story, examining the sources to separate fact from myth.
 
While the proceedings of Beauchamp's trial are relatively straightforward, Beauchamp's confession and Sharp's vindication provide contradicting information about the sequence of events leading up to the murder. The confession, penned by Jereboam Beauchamp and his wife Anna, transforms the story of the murder into a tale of compromised feminine virtue. Sharp's vindication characterizes Sharp as a good and honest statesman who was the victim of a political assassination, with Beauchamp playing the part of the hit-man.
 
Schoenbachler examines the history of the story with a critical eye, investigating the effect of literary Romanticism on the actual crafting of the confession, as the Beauchamps were well versed in the popular melodramas of the era and possessed an impressive ability to manipulate their audience. He also examines Romanticism's influence on the development the story throughout history and the overall impact that it had on the historical representations of the event.
 
In Murder and Madness, Schoenbachler peels away two centuries of myth to provide a more accurate account of the tragedy, revealing the true story behind the murder and demonstrating the enduring influence of Romanticism in early America.
 
Matthew G. Schoenbachler, associate professor of history at the University of North Alabama, has writings in numerous publications.
 
MORE INFORMATION:
Murder and Madness: The Myth of the Kentucky Tragedy
Matthew G. Schoenbachler
$35.00 cloth

To what lengths would you go to keep a country from falling apart? Lincoln undoubtedly asked himself this question during the four long years of the Civil War. Left to his own moral judgments as guides to decision making, Lincoln's wartime protocol was questioned by Americans on both sides of the conflict. Historians have also investigated the military, but few ask the essential but dangerous question: was Lincoln, America's most beloved president, a war criminal?
 
Burrus M. Carnahan's Lincoln on Trial: Southern Civilians and the Law of War examines Lincoln's leadership throughout the Civil War, as he struggled to balance his humanity with the reality of war and the demands of his generals. The book focuses on the President's reactions to the treatment, and mistreatment, of Southern civilians by Union forces, and explores the law and usages of war accepted in the mid-nineteenth century.
 
The book carefully examines Lincoln's policies against the standards of a time when the term "war crimes" did not exist. Lincoln was unable to oversee all of the Union troops personally, and many crimes and actions of brutality were committed without his approval. With the concept of "command responsibility"-the legal theory that a military commander can be punished for failing to prevent war crimes committed by his subordinates-arising after World War II, critics of Lincoln were once again forced to reevaluate the legality and morality of his decisions.
 
Lincoln on Trial investigates the questionable measures that Lincoln approved, focusing on controversial military operations such as Sherman's March and other offensives targeted at Southern civilians. Through study of a wide range of historical materials, Carnahan provides a well-supported analysis of Lincoln's behavior in terms of both historic and modern standards of behavior in wartime.
 
Carnahan's presentation of Lincoln illustrates a conflicted man struggling to maintain a Union and social order at the same time, which was no easy feat in a time when communication was limited to letters. Lincoln on Trial offers readers a fresh insight into a long discussed issue, and also allows for a greater understanding of the character and values of one of America's most revered presidents.
 
Burrus M. Carnahan, a retired Air Force Judge Advocate General officer, professorial lecturer at George Washington University Law School, and foreign affairs officer in the U.S. Department of State, is the author of Act of Justice: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Law of War.
 
MORE INFORMATION:
Lincoln On Trial: Southern Civilians and the Laws of War
Burrus M. Carnahan
$30.00 cloth

A Kentucky Culinary Classic

Kentucky is not only recognized for its majestic horses and fine bourbon, but also for the savory flavors of its cuisine, as restaurant chefs and home cooks of the Bluegrass draw from the state's rich heritage. Classic recipes such as buttermilk bourbon pie and country ham come straight from the pages of Kentucky's culinary history and continue to charm the taste buds of Kentuckians from the Ohio River to the Appalachian Mountains.
 
Now available in paperback, Out of Kentucky Kitchens by Louisville's Marion Flexner, is an exquisite collection of beloved recipes spanning a century of Kentucky's culinary heritage. Ripe with anecdotes about famous Kentucky hostesses and cooks, Flexner guides readers through a state-wide journey that satiates one's thirst for heritage as much as their hunger. A pioneer in her field and a skilled hand in the kitchen, Flexner has perfected all aspects of fine Kentucky dining, gathering a collection of fancibles and fillables ranging from soups and sauces to meats and desserts.
 
Most of the delicacies come straight from the kitchens of Kentucky natives with their unique blend of ingenuity and talent. Though the sources of many recipes are recorded, several are the creations of unknown culinary artists, primarily European settlers, refugees, and former slaves. Other specialties are passed down from the menus of noteworthy restaurants and inns including The Brown Hotel, Old House, the Pendennis Club in Louisville, the Ashbourne Inn in La Grange, and many others. Recipes include the illustrious Churchill Downs Mint Julep, the state's sippage of choice for the Kentucky Derby.
 
Though genuine southern cooking is difficult to find today as fast-food and tasteless microwave meals trump home-cooked cuisine out of convenience, Out of Kentucky Kitchens brings flavor back into the kitchen with recipes that have received full-bellied approval from Kentuckians and their ancestors for generations.
 
Marion Flexner was the author of several books on cooking and entertaining and has contributed food articles to Vogue, Gourmet, and House and Garden.
 
Judge H.H. Tye's Woodford Pudding
 
½ cup softened butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1½ cup blackberry jam
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ t nutmeg, ¼ t cloves
3 egg whites, well beaten
 
Cream the butter or margarine with the sugar. Add egg yolks and blackberry jam. Sift flour with baking powder and spices. Add the milk and the butter mixture alternately to the flour mixture. Fold in the well-beaten egg whites. Pour into a greased mold or pyrex dish and bake in a moderate oven (375 degrees) until pudding sets, ½ hour to 45 minutes. Serve hot.
 
MORE INFORMATION:
Out of Kentucky Kitchens
Marion Flexner
$19.95 paper

 

UPK intern Bailey Johnson has created a new semi-annual author lecture seminar sponsored by the Gaines Center for the Humanities at the University of Kentucky that will focus on environmental issues. In 2009 Johnson was selected for a prestigious Gaines Fellowship, which is program to enrich the undergraduate experience in the humanities in a culture where science and technology are increasingly dominating. As part of the program she was required to create a project that impacts the community in a meaningful way. Given her work at the press, which maintains a strong tradition of publishing environmental books, she immediately thought of combining the two. Thus was born "Conversations on Conservation."
 
"Conversations on Conservation" hopes to encourage UK students and citizens of central Kentucky to read about environmental issues and solutions to the world's environmental concerns. Each seminar will feature an author who will discuss his or her written work, field research, and activism.
 
The first seminar, featuring UPK author Tammy Horn, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 24, in Room 230 of the University of Kentucky Student Center and. Horn is a professor of English at Berea College and the author of Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation, which examines the impact the honey bee has had on agriculture and addresses the cultural influence of bees and beekeeping in the United States. Horn also helps direct The Coal Country Beeworks Project, an environmental initiative sponsored by the Eastern Kentucky University Environmental Research Institute. The project works to establish bee colonies onto reclaimed mine sites with the purpose of revitalizing biodiversity and developing economic opportunities associated with beekeeping.
 
"Conversations on Conservation" is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception that includes honey-infused foods, as well as a honey bar featuring varieties from different regions in the country.

UPK Author Receives Award from the South Carolina Historical Society

UPK author Janet G. Hudson was recently selected as the recipient of the 2009 George C. Rogers, Jr. Award for her book Entangled by White Supremacy: Reform in World War I-era South Carolina. The award is presented annually by the South Carolina Historical Society to the author of the best book concerning South Carolina history published during the previous calendar year. The SCHS was established in 1855 with the purpose of collecting historical documents and artifacts to preserve the state's history in an accessible environment. The society is a private non-profit organization.
 
In Entangled by White Supremacy, Hudson provides readers with a better understanding of the experiences and expectations of both black and white reformers in South Carolina during the World War I-era. She explores a period in which racial issues are often overlooked, examining the effects of white supremacy on racial, educational, and economic reform in a state with a significant African-American population.
 
Hudson, assistant professor of history in the department of continuing education at the University of South Carolina, is the author of several articles on South Carolina history. She was announced as the winner of the award at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Historical Society in Charleston on February 6.

 

UPK Wins the Harry Caudill Award Again

Bookworm & Silverfish of Wytheville, Virginia, recently awarded its 2010 Harry Caudill Award to UPK author Penny Loeb for her book Moving Mountains: How One Woman and Her Community Won Justice from Big Coal. Founded and funded by Jim Presgraves of Bookworm  Silverfish, the bi-annual award recognizes investigative journalism in the Appalachian region.
 
In Moving Mountains, Loeb recounts the story of Patricia Bragg, a Pie, West Virginia, native whose community was upended when coal companies chiseled into the nearby mountains in 1994. With Bragg at the helm, eighty-eight homeowners sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for their failure to comply with the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Lead by lawyer Joe Lovett, their dispute culminated in Bragg v. Robertson, a historic case that temporarily halted mountaintop dumping in the nearby valleys and forced the implementation of proper resurfacing techniques.
 
The award is named for Kentucky author, lawyer and environmentalist Harry Caudill. Much of Caudill's writing explores the rural lifestyle, history and economy of the Appalachian region and includes works of fiction as well as several volumes of oral history. UPK previously won for Healing Appalachia: Sustainable Living through Appropriate Technology, by Al Fritsch and Paul Gallimore in 2008.