Edwin Booth: A Biography and Performance History

[RJNorton]

Bob Cook sent this information:

Publication Date: August 2, 2013

The great nineteenth-century stage actor Edwin Booth began his long career in 1849 as a young teenager, following in his father's footsteps. This full biography traces his life and career as a tragic actor, including his childhood; his early acting tours of California, Australia and Hawaii; his rise to fame as a touring star; his two marriages; his relationship with his brother John Wilkes Booth; his disastrous management of Booth's Theatre in New York City; and his death in 1891. The book includes an extensive appendix detailing every known Edwin Booth performance during his more than 30 years on the stage, with reviews and other supplementary materials.



Arthur W. Bloom is a retired Dean of Visual and Performing Arts from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Chalfont, Pennsylvania.



* Hardcover: 275 pages

* Publisher: McFarland (August 2, 2013)

* Language: English

* ISBN-10: 0786472898

* ISBN-13: 978-0786472895



Amazon.com

[Tom Bogar]

This is the same author who produced a superlative biography of Joseph Jefferson a decade or so ago. Its research was exemplary (including a thorough debunking of the myth of a young Abe Lincoln helping to get a theatre built), and I'm sure this new bio of Edwin Booth will likewise be a great addition to the canon. I've already reserved it on Amazon (although those of us who have dealt with McFarland before realize that it's, as usual, a bit pricey: $52).

[Laurie Verge]

Arthur Bloom also spoke at a Surratt conference about five years ago and was excellent.

[Dave Taylor]

I've emailed Mr. Bloom a couple if times when I was researching the idea of Edwin Booth giving money to the Garretts to reimburse them for their barn. He was very kind and shared part of his manuscript with me. He is in agreement with me that there is no evidence that Edwin ever gave the Garretts any money. He did, however give Richard Baynham Garrett a gift of books when the latter was in seminary school. It was a thank you for sending him part of the lock of hair the Garretts had cut from the head of his dead brother.

[LincolnMan]

Dave: interesting details!

[Carolyn Mitchell]

(05-25-2013 01:08 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Bob Cook sent this information:

Publication Date: August 2, 2013

The great nineteenth-century stage actor Edwin Booth began his long career in 1849 as a young teenager, following in his father's footsteps. This full biography traces his life and career as a tragic actor, including his childhood; his early acting tours of California, Australia and Hawaii; his rise to fame as a touring star; his two marriages; his relationship with his brother John Wilkes Booth; his disastrous management of Booth's Theatre in New York City; and his death in 1891. The book includes an extensive appendix detailing every known Edwin Booth performance during his more than 30 years on the stage, with reviews and other supplementary materials.



Arthur W. Bloom is a retired Dean of Visual and Performing Arts from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Chalfont, Pennsylvania.



* Hardcover: 275 pages

* Publisher: McFarland (August 2, 2013)

* Language: English

* ISBN-10: 0786472898

* ISBN-13: 978-0786472895



Amazon.com

I also heard Daniel J. Watermeier is coming out with a new bio this fall but haven't seen anything online yet.

[RJNorton]

Carolyn, Dave, everyone...what is the general feeling regarding the reliability of Eleanor Ruggles' Prince of Players: Edwin Booth as a source? She does not use footnotes so I have wondered about it.

[Dave Taylor]

(06-01-2013 04:02 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Carolyn, Dave, everyone...what is the general feeling regarding the reliability of Eleanor Ruggles' Prince of Players: Edwin Booth as a source? She does not use footnotes so I have wondered about it.

When I emailed the Booth library at The Players using Kimmel's and Ruggles' books as sources for my inquiry, the director replied back with, "Kimmel is notoriously inaccurate, Ruggles better but still with problems." So at least there's one opinion from an Edwin Booth person.

[J. Beckert]

I don't know if I buy that about Kimmel being notoriously inaccurate. I've heard he spent a lot of time in Maryland researching the Booth's. There's some anecdotes in his work that can't be found anywhere else.

[Craig Hipkins]

Roger,
Thanks for posting this. There are some books that I put on a back burner to read at a later date. This one will not be one of them!
As far as Ruggles and Kimmel being innacurate you will find mistakes and flaws in just about every book (including my own) Both of these books were well researched and written. I especially enjoyed Ruggles book.

Craig

[RJNorton]

Hi Craig. The reason I asked about Ruggles is because (p. 213) she writes, "As soon as he could afford it Booth had reimbursed the Virginia farmer whose tobacco barn had been burned down during John Wilkes' capture." But Dave and other researchers can find no evidence of this. Ruggles did not footnote her book, so I was curious about where she got her information.

[Laurie Verge]

Carolyn inquired previously about the status of Daniel Watermeier's book on Edwin Booth. From what I can learn, he is in negotiations with Southern Illinois Press about publication. Like every other publisher today, however, there is bickering over cutting the length of the work.

I understand that Daniel's work is expected to be the definitive work on Edwin to date. He has been working on it for well over a decade or more.

[Carolyn Mitchell]

(06-06-2013 02:34 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  Carolyn inquired previously about the status of Daniel Watermeier's book on Edwin Booth. From what I can learn, he is in negotiations with Southern Illinois Press about publication. Like every other publisher today, however, there is bickering over cutting the length of the work.

I understand that Daniel's work is expected to be the definitive work on Edwin to date. He has been working on it for well over a decade or more.

Thanks for info Laurie!