| Description |
1 online resource (286 pages) |
| Access |
Access limited to subscribing institutions. |
| Summary |
The dramatic biography of one of the most notorious families in American history. Junius Booth and his sons, Edwin and John Wilkes, were nineteenth-century America’s most famous theatrical family. Yet the Booth name is forever etched in the history books for one terrible reason: the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. In American Gothic , bestselling historian Gene Smith vividly chronicles the triumphs, scandals, and tragedies of this infamous family. The preeminent English tragedian of his day, Junius Booth was a madman and an alcoholic who abandoned his wife and young son to move to America and start a new family. His son Edwin became the most renowned Shakespearean actor in America, famously playing Hamlet for one hundred consecutive nights, but he suffered from depression and a crippling fear of inheriting his father’s insanity. Blessed with extraordinary good looks and a gregarious nature, John Wilkes Booth seemed destined for spectacular fame and fortune. However, his sympathy for the Confederate cause unleashed a dangerous instability that brought permanent disgrace to his family and forever changed the course of American history. Richly detailed and emotionally insightful, American Gothic is a “ripping good tale” that brings to life the true story behind a family tragedy of Shakespearean proportions ( The New York Times ). |
| System Details |
System requirements: Adobe Digital editions. |
| Note |
Print version record. |
| Subject |
Booth family.
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Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Assassination.
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Booth, Junius Brutus, 1796-1852 -- Family.
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Booth, Edwin, 1833-1893 -- Family.
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Booth, John Wilkes, 1838-1865 -- Family.
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BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Entertainment & Performing Arts.
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Actors -- United States -- Biography.
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| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
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| Other Form: |
Print version: Smith, Gene. American gothic. New York : Simon & Schuster, c1992. 0671767135 (DLC)92008497 |
| ISBN |
9781504039765 (e-pub) |
| Standard No. |
9781504039765 |
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