M. William Phelps - Author & Investigative Journalist

M. William Phelps, Author & Journalist, at the Hale Homestead in Coventry, CT

Welcome to the official homepage of author M. William Phelps!

Crime expert, lecturer, journalist and “young historian” M. William Phelps is the author of 12 books. He has appeared on Court TV, The Discovery Channel, Fox News Channel, CN8, ABC’s “Good Morning America,” The Learning Channel, Biography Channel, History Channel, Montel Williams, Oxygen, Geraldo At Large, USA Radio Network, ABC News Radio and Radio America, who calls him “the nation’s leading authority on the mind of the female murderer.” He’s written for the Providence Journal, Hartford Courant, the New London Day, and been profiled in such noted publications as Writer's Digest, NY Daily News, Newsday, Albany Times-Union, Hartford Courant, Advance for Nurses magazine, Forensic Nursing. Phelps has also consulted for the Showtime cable television series “Dexter.”

He lives in a small Connecticut farming community with his wife, three children and Labrador.

Phelps books include Nathan Hale, Failures of the Presidents, Perfect Poison, Lethal Guardian, Every Move You Make, Sleep In Heavenly Peace, Murder in the Heartland, Because You Loved Me, If Looks Could Kill, I’ll Be Watching You, Cruel Death (2009) and Deadly Secrets (2009).

At the present time, Phelps is working on a biography of healthcare pioneer/serial killer Amy Archer-Gilligan and his first thriller, a novel set in Boston featuring Boston Police Detective Jake Sundance Parker!

NATHAN HALE: The Life and Death of America’s First Spy
On sale September 18, 2008

The first biography in nearly a century of the legendary
Revolutionary War patriot and our country’s first spy.

Few Americans know much more about Nathan Hale than his famous last words: “I only regret that I have one life left to give for my country.” But who was the real Nathan Hale?

M. William Phelps charts the life of this famed patriot and Connecticut’s state hero, following Hale’s rural childhood, his education at Yale, and his work as a schoolteacher. Even in his brief career, he distinguished himself by offering formal lessons to young women. Like many young Americans, he soon became drawn into the colonies’ war for independence, becoming a captain in Washington’s army. When the general was in need of a spy, Hale willingly rose to the challenge, bravely sacrificing his life for the sake of American liberty.

Using Hale’s own journals and letters as well as testimonies from his friends and contemporaries, Phelps depicts the Revolution as it was seen from the ground. From the confrontation in Boston to the battle for New York City, readers experience what life was like for an ordinary soldier in the struggling Continental army.

In this impressive, well-researched biography, Phelps separates historical fact from long-standing myth to reveal the life of Nathan Hale, a young man who deserves to be remembered as an original American patriot.

Warner Bros. has acquired the movie rights to Phelps' upcoming Nathan Hale biography. Barry Josephson's Josephson Entertainment will produce the film version of the book. "We want to do it as an exciting spy story," Josephson Entertainment's VP Danica Radovanov says.

Praise for NATHAN HALE …

“… Phelps has written an informative, interesting biography of Hale that effectively reveals the flesh-and-blood human behind the iconic image. Clearly an admirer of Hale, he has written nothing that detracts from Hale's reputation; instead, he has provided a nuanced portrait … using Hale's own correspondence, [Phelps] clears up some of the murky details surrounding Hale's spying, arrest, and execution. This is a well-done, balanced account of a short but interesting life.
- Booklist

“… M. William Phelps gives a new, fully documented life to this romantic, long neglected American revolutionary.”
- R.A. Scotti, author of The Sudden Sea and Basilica
~

“Phelps has written a meticulously-researched biography … [he] has well captured the excitement of Hale's joining the Patriot cause in the American Revolution, giving us a fresh narrative of those tumultuous years.”
- Joyce Appleby, author of Inheriting the Revolution
~

"… Phelps has written an absorbing, highly detailed biography of the patriotic Hale. It is a work that at the same time tells the story of young Hale, army life and the daily battles between the American and British forces at the start of the war. He weaves each story together to create a very colorful, emotional and enjoyable book. …."
- Bruce Chadwick, author of George Washington’s War
~

“Phelps has brilliantly taken Nathan Hale from the faded memory of history and reintroduced us … This book speaks to us today. … Phelps has … given us the insight as to where Hale found such strength and fortitude. Phelps’ book should be read by anyone who is responsible for putting lives at risk for our country. Phelps’ account of Hale’s death is a gut-wrenching reminder of the consequences of failed leadership.”
- JOSEPH J. TRENTO, author of The Secret History of the CIA

M. William Phelps is managed by Peter Miller,
PMA Literary & Film Management, Inc.
45 West 21st Street, Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10010
Phone: 212-929-1222 - Fax: 212-206-0238
Email:

Reach M. William Phelps at:
PO BOX 3215, Vernon, CT 06066
Phone: 860-870-7247
Email:

Both photos of Phelps at Hale Homestead in Coventry, CT,
courtesy of Claudia Olsen, 2007