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The Curse of Cain: The Untold Story of John Wilkes Booth

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Theodore Nottingham is primarily a writer of religious books and fiction with a religious and/or historical bent. In The Curse of Cain, purportedly a biography of the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, he creates a work that is both a religious parable and a work that is at once history and historical fiction. His rationale for doing so is his desire to put across the torment and the motivation of a man reviled by history as the murderer of both the man Lincoln and of the ultimate well being of the post Civil War South. His reason for doing that is his family connection to the protagonist, for Nottingham is the great, great, great grandson of John Wilkes Booth.

As I said when I reviewed the biography of the Empress Josephine, I tend to like my history "neat," and this is no exception. That doesn't mean that the book is a total waste, however, for a number of reasons. For those readers who prefer the story behind history, the first half of the book should be quite captivating, for it certainly reads like a Shakespearean drama. Nottingham claims to have received some of his ancestor's propensity for drama and grim intensity, and he certainly reveals that when he throws himself into Booth's tale. The setting, character, and plot, including the implication of important figures pulling strings behind the scenes, are interesting enough to hold the attention. I read the first 142 pages in about 2 hours. To some extent the author's choice of words and phrases was a little trite, or perhaps more fairly, a little adolescent. In fact the book might well appeal to adolescent boys who find history too dull because history books are too "dry," a mere collection of names, dates, and places to be memorized for tests if one is to pass them

On a more redeeming note, from my perspective at least, is the final few pages of the volume which are mostly historical data drawn in part form family diaries, reminiscences, photos and documents and in part from public documents. The hurried summation of this data in these final pages certainly provided some justification for the more theatrical pages that preceded it. It also provided data that seemed to support the intimation in the earlier pages of collusion in high places. If nothing else it rubbed away the patina of the ages from the events of that era and revealed the solid brass of the time. Like our own world, full of subterfuge and hidden agendas, political posturing and diplomatic positioning, the post Civil War Era was filled with urgency and moment, with people who won big time and those who lost big time. It demonstrates that nothing under the sun is truly new, especially when it comes to human drama, something that both Shakespeare and Booth would have understood.

I think it's a pity that so little space was given to the documentation and the conclusions to be drawn from it. When I ordered the book, it was that that I expected from it. Given his access to family material, Nottingham could have made it a far more major and serious work of history.

As far as I can see this book has but one fault, and that is that it claims to be a work of historical non-fiction. First of all, the body of John Wilkes Booth was not examined by his family at the old arsenal, it was examined in Baltimore shortly before being buried in the family plot. The story about Booth's escape to Asia is extremely far-fetched, and as a person who has spent a great deal of time reading about this man, it is highly doubtful that he would have brooded at all for killing Lincoln, although he might have brooded a bit for himself after he realized that he was now a hated man throughout the country. Finally, there is the icing on the cake, Booth's death in Enid, Oklahoma in 1903. If anyone has seen photographs of the man who claimed to be John Wilkes Booth shortly before dying, then it is very obvious that this man is not Booth. His forehead is much smaller and his features are much more rugged than Booth's. An interesting sidenote, the last known whereabouts of Boston Corbett, the man who killed Booth at Garrett's farm, was Enid, Oklahoma. My hats off to you Mr. Nottingham, for this book is much more entertaining than the other recent fiction book about John Wilkes Booth.

But be aware that this book, which is supposed to have been carefully researched to follow up the family story, starts out with a description of the cherry trees blooming in DC when Booth sets out on his mission...the famous cherry trees weren't planted until 1912. With that in mind, it's an interesting read, especially if you've read Otto Eisenschiml's work accusing Edwin M. Stanton of being behind Lincoln's assassination.

John Wilks Booth had loved the South and that flag since childhood. He and I would have had a lot in common. Carm can get you anywhere, no questions asked. It is thought that John was a conFederate spy able to buy and transport quine across the blockade which the North had imposed. JOhn was a devout upholder of the South's principles and proud of it. He wasn't a pauper, and had earned $20,000 a year by 1864. At the age of seventeen, already a 'pro' on stage in 1855. He witnessed the execution of John Brown on December 2, 1859.

The theater was a world of false reality and, sometimes, actors forget and tend to lead the lives of the characters they protray on stage. Actually, he lived on a farm in Maryland, 25 miles north of Baltimore. He got his start on the stages of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond (a place dear to his heart). In 1864, he visited Canada. Shortly before the assassination, he stars in the tours of plays in New York, Baltimore, Chicago, St. Louis, and Boston. He did have a tumor on the back of his neck, which may have caused him to throw caution to the wind and go "hog wild" which his inclinations led him to do.

John had rescued a wounded Yankee soldier in New York City during the Draft Riots in July, 1863. He'd told his sister who was close to him, "My soul, life and possessions are of the South. My profession, my name, is my passport." He appeared to hve free pass everywhere as he was recognized as a notable figure in Washington, D. C.

In a play there at Ford's Theatre, he had warned President Lincoln with his gestures and sharp demeanor in one of which he was the star, as he made threats toward another character each time pointing toward the president. This did not disconcern or upset Lincoln. He had a good sense of humor, and rather laughed it off. Booth publicly criticized the role represented and once was arrested in St. Louis for making "treasonous remarks." What he'd said is common slang today: he wished the President and the government "would go to Hell." He'd had to pay a large fine.

He held Jefferson Davis and the Southern cause "sacred." That's not saying that he would deal with the devil for his life or do anything risky for the Cause. He really thought that he would get away free and clear and, at long last, be a hero for the South. He shot Abraham Lincoln on the evening of April 14, and the president succumbed at 7:22 a.m. on April 15. It was a dasdardly deed and he paid dearly, as his career on the stage was clearly over. Dr. Samuel A. Mudd was pardoned by Andrew Johnson from the prison sentence for treating John Wilkes Booth four years (January 10, 1869) after the "crime against our country."

this book is obviously the version of this tragic story that should have remained an inner dialogue for the author. it is a total fabrication of the events from the opening sentence- some examples are: the sobbing parker at the saloon after lincoln was shot- the conversations in mudds house where booth and herold say they gave false names, but the in dialogue with quotation marks, call each other by booth and herold. the ridiculous exchanges between paine and herold outside of sewards house, the fact that he states there was a female nurse who opened the door to paine, when everyone involved testified that it was the black male servant,he states oswell swann was the runaway slave of colonel cox, who was never seen or heard from after he led booth and herold to the sinister cox, with his evil grin. he states that mrs quesenberry and dr stuart had a lookout on the water waiting for booths arrival into virginia and on and on and on. willie jett was supposedly sent to meet booth at port royal and escort him south . the author should be embarassed that he would try to pass off this vapid drivel as hard researched historical fact. every page is filled with ridiculous lies- i cant believe i read the whole thing. its actually sickening. how stupid does this dude think everyone is?