Fortune's Fool

The Life of John Wilkes Booth

Terry Alford

Terry Alford is a nationally recognized authority on John Wilkes Booth
The first full biography of Booth ever written
Offers new information on the Booth family's acting careers and 19th-century theater history

Fortune's Fool

The Life of John Wilkes Booth

Terry Alford

Description

With a single shot from a pistol small enough to conceal in his hand, John Wilkes Booth catapulted into history on the night of April 14, 1865. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln stunned a nation that was just emerging from the chaos and calamity of the Civil War, and the president's untimely death altered the trajectory of postwar history. But to those who knew Booth, the event was even more shocking-for no one could have imagined that this fantastically gifted actor and well-liked man could commit such an atrocity.

In Fortune's Fool, Terry Alford provides the first comprehensive look at the life of an enigmatic figure whose life has been overshadowed by his final, infamous act. Tracing Booth's story from his uncertain childhood in Maryland, characterized by a difficult relationship with his famous actor father, to his successful acting career on stages across the country, Alford offers a nuanced picture of Booth as a public figure, performer, and deeply troubled man. Despite the fame and success that attended Booth's career—he was billed at one point as "the youngest star in the world"—he found himself consumed by the Confederate cause and the desire to help the South win its independence. Alford reveals the tormented path that led Booth to conclude, as the Confederacy collapsed in April 1865, that the only way to revive the South and punish the North for the war would be to murder Lincoln—whatever the cost to himself or others. The textured and compelling narrative gives new depth to the familiar events at Ford's Theatre and the aftermath that followed, culminating in Booth's capture and death at the hands of Union soldiers 150 years ago.

Based on original research into government archives, historical libraries, and family records, Fortune's Fool offers the definitive portrait of John Wilkes Booth.

Fortune's Fool

The Life of John Wilkes Booth

Terry Alford

Introduction
Chapter One Bright Boy Absalom
Chapter Two The Muffin
Chapter Three Lions and Foxes
Chapter Four The Union as It Was
Chapter Five Shining in the Rough
Chapter Six Life's Fitful Fever
Chapter Seven Mischief, Thou Art Afoot
Chapter Eight The Fiery Furnace
Chapter Nine Come Weal or Woe
Chapter Ten This One Mad Act
Chapter Eleven Exit Booth
Chapter Twelve The Last Ditch
Epilogue A Green and Narrow Bed
Acknowledgments
Notes
Notes on Sources
Index

Fortune's Fool

The Life of John Wilkes Booth

Terry Alford

Author Information

Terry Alford, Professor of History Emeritus, Northern Virginia Community College

Terry Alford is Professor of History Emeritus at Northern Virginia Community College. He is the author of Prince Among Slaves, which was made into a PBS documentary in 2007 and is a member of the Ford's Theatre Advisory Council.

Fortune's Fool

The Life of John Wilkes Booth

Terry Alford

Reviews and Awards

"Terry Alford's Fortune's Fool is a stunning achievement-it more than fills this decades-old lacuna Fortune's Fool is highly recommended to all audiences with an interest in Lincoln, the Civil War era, or biography in general It is difficult to imagine this not being the definitive biography of John Wilkes Booth for decades to come." - The North Carolina Historical Review

"As Alford's excellent book makes clear, Booth was a celebrity in his own right, and his high profile heightened the drama of the deed: imagine if Elvis Presley had assassinated President John F. Kennedy." -Foreign Affairs "

"Fortune's Fool is so deeply researched and persuasively argued that it should stand as the standard portrait for years... Readers will know how this story ended, but Mr. Alford's recounting of Booth's flight and the Army's manhunt is a tour de force of sustained drama, never losing its breakneck pace and offering startling revelations." - Harold Holzer, The Wall Street Journal

"A vivid, gripping portrait of the charming, impetuous, and troubled Booth, whose ill-fated and ultimately murderous path often seems to strangely echo the doomed Shakespearean characters he played on stage." - Library Journal

"The 'first full-length biography' of Abraham Lincoln's assassin offers much nuance and complexity to the killer ... Alford sifts through the more balanced, credible sources of those who knew Booth before the assassination to flesh out a surprisingly engaging portrait of the brilliant young actor and deeply riven sympathizer to the Southern cause ... Alford paints some intriguing shades of gray in this elucidating portrait." - Kirkus Reviews

"Exemplary... Alford's book examines Booth's movements and interactions in greater depth than any of its predecessors, drawing a clear picture of the psychological spiral that led to his plot to kidnap" - and, when that failed, to kill

"Based on meticulous and exhaustive research, written in vivid prose spiced with wry humor, Terry Alford's Fortune's Fool is a tour de force by a masterful historian. This eagerly awaited biography exceeds the high expectations so long entertained by Civil War buffs, Lincolnians, and lovers of American history in general." - Michael Burlingame, author of Abraham Lincoln: A Life