While in Washington D.C. we of course visited Ford’s Theatre (see post on the subject, possibly coming soon) so of course I spent most of the time talking about the Booths and their Shakespeare connection.
What I did not realize is that Edwin, the good one, is buried right here in Massachusetts. What do you think, does the picture of him look anything like the engraving on his tomb? I don’t see it. Then again the tomb version I’m sure was of him as an older man. Bonus history geek points if you already knew the ironic (?) story about Edwin saving the life of Lincoln’s son when he pulled him out of the way of an oncoming train.
If you ever get the chance, don’t miss Prince of Players – starring Richard Burton as Edwin himself. An absolutely fascinating movie that has a surprising amount of Shakespeare in it, and manages to tell the story of the man who shot Lincoln as nothing but a subplot. I loved it.
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