American Gothic: The Story of America's Legendary Theatrical Family—Junius, Edwin, and John Wilkes Booth

American Gothic: The Story of America's Legendary Theatrical Family—Junius, Edwin, and John Wilkes Booth

<DIV><B>A <I>New York Times</I>–bestselling author’s “lively” account of a family of famous actors—who became notorious after the assassination of President Lincoln (<I>The New Yorker</I>).</B><BR /><BR /> 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.<BR />  <BR /> In <I>American Gothic</I>, 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.<BR />  <BR /> 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.<BR />  <BR /> Richly detailed and emotionally insightful, <I>American Gothic </I>is a “ripping good tale” that brings to life the true story behind a family tragedy of Shakespearean proportions (<I>The New York Times</I>).</DIV>