In this dazzling novelization of the life of John Wilkes Booth and his path to villainy, Karen Joy Fowler centers her narrative not on the notorious assassin himself, but on his famous family, from the patriarch, perhaps the most celebrated (and famously unstable) actor of early America, to John's many siblings. As the close-knit family faces both triumph and tragedy, success and scandal, the seeds of dissent within the fledgling nation build to a disastrous climax, threating to fracture the Booths at every turn. With a wealth of research, lyricism, and empathy, Fowler presents an engrossing and insightful epic that sheds intimate light on the complexities and contradiction of Civil War-era America, and provides startling insight into the fissures facing the country today.