A Passing to Note

[L Verge]

I often felt that American Gothic was overlooked when people listed favorite books because it was just so down-to-earth, easy to read, etc. that the intellectuals among us tended to downplay the effect it made on the average person who knew little about the convoluted Booth family. If a tome is not at least 350 words with pages upon pages of notes and citations, some of us tend to ignore it.

Personally, Gothic was my favorite on the family until Nora's book came out. It blew me away, but it also is easy to read and appeals to the average person. As much as I liked her book, to hear her talk about it in person before an audience of about 125 at the 2011 Surratt Conference - most of whom were male critics waiting to pounce - was an even better treat. Nora is just about five feet tall, very tiny, very bubbly; but boy can she control a room and leave them begging for more.

That said, American Gothic is still the Booth book I would recommend to readers just getting started on our favorite subject. The next one I'm waiting for is Terry Alford's bio on JWB.