Sponsored link
Friday, January 3, 2025

Sponsored link

Arts + CultureLit'Booth' makes most of its historical fiction in tale...

‘Booth’ makes most of its historical fiction in tale of assassin and his kin

Author Karen Joy Fowler renders the story of John Wilkes' family as that of our country itself.

As a journalist, I have an uneasy relationship with historical fiction. It makes me queasy, nearly dizzy, when facts in an article are blurred with fiction and opinion to the point which only the most expert, dedicated investigator can tickle out the difference. But with a novel like Booth (Penguin Random House), written by Man Booker finalist and PEN/Faulkner award-winning author Karen Joy Fowler in hand, half of that tension disappears.

Fowler’s research process into the time period and family of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth was as rigorous as an athlete’s Olympic training. As in her prior work in best-selling science fiction, fantasy novels, and short story collections, it’s always clear how she slices and dices the narrative pie. In interviews and in the book’s afterword and acknowledgements chapter, Fowler makes explicit that Booth’s research process included reading vast amounts of published and archival material. She visited museums and even Tudor Hall, a home built by the family’s patriarch and located on Booth farmland.

The result is a project that explores 19th century politics, culture, moral divisions, racism, slavery, Victorian-era gender bias—all seen primarily through the lens of the dynastic battles and dynamics of siblings and parents in a deeply troubled household. “Genteel” alcoholism and drug abuse, gun violence, jealousy, celebrity culture, systemic injustice, vegetarianism, mental illness, and Black family life in the 1800s dance on the perimeters of its central story. The book’s main line focuses less on the best-known Booth to examine the rest of his family—and in so doing, feels intensely contemporary.

Readers learn that family patriarch Junius Brutus Booth was a Shakespearean actor. His performances of Richard III were mythologized; applauded mightily on the occasions his outrageous drinking habits do not reduce him to utter embarrassment. His sudden absences from the family and his indiscretions that end in bigamy leave John Wilke, his mother, and siblings spinning like dervishes. Mom is depressed, his eldest sister Rosalie horrifically shy, his brother Edwin an alcoholic knockoff of their father. The family’s most talented actor, the enticing sister Asia, is steely, wickedly charming, and emotionally volatile.

But when Congress passes the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery and General Lee surrenders to end the Civil War, John Wilke implodes and moves to the frontline of the novel. His Southern sympathies tilt precariously toward violence as a means to preserve slavery and achieve notoriety. Fowler allows him at last to claim center stage in the novel’s climax, which was written long before Fowler ever considered writing about the famous assassin’s family.

While reading the book, I found myself forgetting, or at least setting aside, the son whose claim to fame as a white supremacist robbed our country of one of its deepest presidential thinkers. Siblings Rosie, Edwin and Asia open into complex characters that, had they not been members of the Booth family, would still have been intriguing subjects. Perhaps because we already know “the end” of this yarn, and because Fowler doesn’t cast judgement on the characters, it’s possible to surrender to the fascinations of people who for the most part, struggled and triumphed outside the spotlight.

Booth serves up as pleasurable-to-read side dishes about the Dred Scott case and the John Brown uprising, both of which demonstrate Lincoln’s dignified purpose and principles in office. I found myself conducting extracurricular research on the time period—not so much to test the accuracy of Fowler’s account, but due to reawakened interest in the history of this country and the justice it continues to lack.

With populism, fanaticism, systemic racism, mass shootings, and wars raging in today’s world, it’s nearly impossible to maintain hope for the future. With Booth, Fowler suggests there is opportunity to learn from the past in order to move to a more ethical, peaceful, and moral future. With that, historical fiction gains traction on my bookshelf, although I admit, our relationship remains uneasy.

Purchase Booth here.

Sponsored link

48 Hills welcomes comments in the form of letters to the editor, which you can submit here. We also invite you to join the conversation on our FacebookTwitter, and Instagram

Sponsored link

Featured

In Gina M. Contreras’ bold self-portraits, naked truth and tangible emotion

'I draw from my own experiences while capturing moments of passion, longing, and the bittersweet nature of unspoken connections.'

Year on Stage, 2024, part 2: The highs took a bold stand

The best productions of the year faced what was happening in the world directly, offering oases of inspiration.

How fawning media helped Berkeley’s new mayor win the election

The East Bay Times/Mercury News pushed Ishii's candidacy—but the editorial arguments don't hold up to factual scrutiny

More by this author

Pilobolus brings 50+ years of light, heat, and the joy of connection to Berkeley

'We work more like a lantern than a laser beam,' says artistic director Matt Kent of the welcoming company.

The phenomenal triumph of Lava Thomas

Her Maya Angelou monument weathered very public storms, now it reflects the great author's 'peace amidst adversity.'

Best of the Bay 2024 Editors’ Pick: Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive

This world-class treasure trove of film and other creative forms is the true work of art.
Sponsored link

You might also likeRELATED