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Booth's Sister |  | Author: Jane Singer
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $9.50
as of 7/30/2010 18:24 MDT details
You Save: $5.45 (36%)
New (12) Used (8) from $7.42
Seller: marapheng
Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 571491
Media: Paperback
Pages: 228
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8
ISBN: 0980245338
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780980245332
ASIN: 0980245338
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
"My brother killed Abraham Lincoln. That is my weight, my shame. While he remained at large, I was held captive in my home. I should have told the soldiers who came with guns drawn and bayonets at the ready this true thing: I might have stopped him, for I harbored him and kept his secrets. I was a pie safe locked tight and guilty as he." Asia Booth Clarke was twenty-nine years old and pregnant when Union soldiers and Federal detectives stormed her Philadelphia home in search of her assassin-brother. John Wilkes Booth's older sister had grown up in one of America's most notoriously troubled but spectacularly acclaimed acting families. "Johnny" and Edwin, her handsome brothers, were the matinee idols of the era. When John Wilkes Booth's crime left the nation in furious mourning and the Booth family under a dark cloud of accusation, it was Asia who bore the brunt. Booth's Sister was inspired by Asia Booth Clarke's personal memoirs. Author, Civil War scholar and storyteller Jane Singer has masterfully imagined the family dynamics and intimate dilemmas that led to one of America's most fateful crimes and left a sister's life in shambles.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 44
 Transporting! August 6, 2008
Moah Anboss (New York New York)
27 out of 30 found this review helpful
I love this book. Jane Singer is an amazing writer. Often I would go back and slowly re-read a sentence just to savor it. Particularly compelling is the multi-dimensional relationship between Asia and John first as children then, as innocence wanes, adults. I found myself wanting to know more about John and his motivations but that's for another book (Hopefully one by Ms. Singer) The histrionics of the father were amusing but I would have liked to get to know him not always "on". With Asia, I felt I knew her so well by the end of the book: her bravery, her fears, her playfulness, beautifully revealed by the author. All in all it's a wonderful story and I found myself wanting more.
Moah
Exquisitely Written July 30, 2008
J. Rubiner
21 out of 25 found this review helpful
I see another review for this title seems to have neglected to notice that it is fiction. And it's beautiful fiction. Much of the writing has the lilt and imagery of poetry. It's a wonderfully imagined story and chock full of fascinating history. All around, a great read.
My brother killed Abraham Lincoln... March 5, 2010
Tracy Stillman (California)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
So reads the first sentence of this fascinating look into the life of the sister of the assassin of our greatest president. First, it should be understood that this is historical fiction, a look into the mind of a person who actually existed. Ms. Singer (the Author) however is a civil war scholar and does have a strong background in the area she has chosen fictionalize. If you are looking for actual pure history, this may not be the book for you. I myself have always been fascinated with crawling into the minds of actual historical figures and Ms. Singer was able to do that-something that could quickly turn into a mess if attempted by a lesser writer. She becomes the pregnant 29 year old Asia Booth Clarke, a member of one of Americas acclaimed acting families of the era. As mentioned by other reviewers, the book can be a little confusing at first. The key is to understand that the book has voices that of Asia at the time of the assassination and that of the child Asia and her relationship with her brother. Beside her grasp of history Ms. Singer is an eloquent writer which makes reading a joy!
breathtakingly beautiful May 17, 2010
K. Hobbs
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As a teacher of American Literature, I admire Singer's deft knitting together of various events in Asia Booth's life that illustrate the oneness Asia felt with her brother John Wilkes and the conflicts related to that closeness. Singer brings to life the Booth family's dysfunction as well as its idiosyncratic creativity with unforgettable imagery and metaphor. From there she gives the reader an episodic narrative to construct the psychology of both Asia and John. Yes, the reader has to work to piece the story together, but that effort reaps a rich reward. As with all great literature, the novel deepens with each re-reading. Singer possesses a rare capacity to meld her scholarly research on the Civil War with engrossing fiction. A treasure!
Fairy Tale--Shakespeare--Stream of Consciousness--WOW! July 9, 2010
Hardt2
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I agree whole heartedly with "Transporting"--this is a truly amazing book. After finishing it last evening, I went right to OpenLibrary to try to find Asia Clarke Booth's book entitled, The Unlocked Book. They have it but unfortunately, not for Kindle. They do have a couple of other titles by her that might very well be worthwhile reading. I congratulate Ms. Singer on a creatively marvelous book! It took a few chapters to really get what she was trying to achieve -by then I was hopelessly hooked. She is a true talent and a thorough researcher.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 44
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