Fates and traitors : a novel of John Wilkes Booth
(Large Print)

Unabridged.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 677-680).

"Historical fiction following the notorious John Wilkes Booth and the four women who kept his perilous confidence. The world would not look upon his like again. John Wilkes Booth-- driven son of an acclaimed British stage actor and a Covent Garden flower girl, whose misguided quest to avenge the vanquished Confederacy led him to commit one of the most notorious acts in the annals of America-- has been the subject of scholarship, speculation, and even obsession. Though in his plot to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln Booth did not act alone-- "I am determined to be a villain, " he tragically prophesized on the occasion of his acclaimed 1862 New York City debut in the role of Richard III-- he is often portrayed as a shadowy figure, devoid of human connection. Yet four women were integral in the life of this unquiet American: Mary Ann, the mother he revered above all but country; his sister and confidante, Asia; Lucy Lambert Hale, the senator's daughter who loved him; and the Confederate widow Mary Surratt, to whom he entrusted the secrets of his vengeful wrath. In [this book], ... author Jennifer Chiaverini renders for the first time as fiction the compelling interplay between these pivotal actors-- some willing, others unwitting-- who made an indelible mark on the history of our nation."

LARGE PRINT