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dreamwanderer's review
5.0
Imagine hearing that one of the Baldwin Brothers or one of Martin Sheen's sons had just shot the President? That was the reaction of the public the day after Lincoln was murdered. There was no scrounging around looking for information on some obscure lone gunman like the media has been forced to do in these modern times. The theater going public of the day recognized the name of John Wilkes Booth immediately. He was the son of Junius Brutus Booth, one of first American theatrical 'stars' and brother to Edwin Booth who was just as famous in his own right. While brother Edwin amassed a fortune and basked in critical praise in Boston and New York John Wilkes worked the more intense and lower paying circuits in the south and mid-west specializing in fight scenes and swordplay. While he was popular and good looking he was the Sylvester Stallone of his day.
My Thoughts be Bloody is the story of an acting family. They were famous and well off but at the same time not quite accepted in polite society. They lived in a no-man's land between the classes and add to the fact that the children were also illegitimate. It was a strange existence.
John Wilkes found acceptance in the south as did Edwin in the North. Edwin settled down and married while John was constantly in trouble. The rifts and divisions among the two of them deepened just as the country split in two.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Lincoln assassination or if you are curious about how his relationship with his brother Edwin might have contributed to John Wilkes committing his infamous act.
My Thoughts be Bloody is the story of an acting family. They were famous and well off but at the same time not quite accepted in polite society. They lived in a no-man's land between the classes and add to the fact that the children were also illegitimate. It was a strange existence.
John Wilkes found acceptance in the south as did Edwin in the North. Edwin settled down and married while John was constantly in trouble. The rifts and divisions among the two of them deepened just as the country split in two.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Lincoln assassination or if you are curious about how his relationship with his brother Edwin might have contributed to John Wilkes committing his infamous act.
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