Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination The Untold Story of the Actors and Stagehands at Ford's Theatre

"Dr. Bogar's scholarship is original and impeccable. With stunning clarity, this vivid narrative shines a light into the shadows and behind the scenes of the most resonant crime in American history. "Backstage at the Lincoln Assassination" is an indispensable resource for understanding the width, breadth and scope of the tragedy at Ford's Theatre." --Erik Jendresen, writer/producer of "Killing Lincoln" and "Band of Brothers" "Just when we thought there was nothing new to learn about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre comes this important book by theater historian Tom Bogar. It brings the actors and actresses of Ford's Theatre finally--and fully--to life. In a masterpiece of skillful research and synthesis, Bogar immerses us in one of the most dramatic moments in American history while answering questions we thought were unanswerable. A definitive treatment." --Terry Alford, author of "Fortune's Fool: The Biography of John Wilkes Booth" and "John Wilkes Booth: A Sister's Memoir" "Thomas A. Bogar's exemplary, balanced, and innovative investigation of the traumatic event of April 14, 1865 at Washington's Ford's Theatre will quickly become an essential study among the plethora of books on Lincoln's assassination. Yet unlike previous tomes that often focus on various conspiracy theories, Lincoln and his killer, actor John Wilkes Booth, take something of a backseat to the forty-six actors, managers, and stagehands present that night in Bogar's original perspective. Meticulously researched and documented, written in a lively and engrossing narrative style, this unique book presents the reader with a vivid and engrossing examination of the impact the assassination had on each of those present backstage or, in the case of the manager, closely involved, with the performance that fateful evening. Bogar follows each of the forty-six from their activities that day to their deaths, tantalizingly noting controversies and questionsh