Publishers Weekly
04/25/2022
In this intriguing if meandering study, historian Alford (Fortune’s Fool) views the “common experiences” of the Lincoln and Booth families through the lens of spiritualism. He details how Mary Todd Lincoln became interested in spiritualism after the death of the couple’s second child, Eddie, in 1850. When another son, Willie, died in 1862, Mary’s interest intensified, and the Lincolns sat for about a dozen seances with medium Nettie Colburn in a two-year period at the White House. Though Abraham Lincoln was “embarrassingly superstitious,” according to Alford, he viewed spiritualism largely as “entertainment,” whereas Mary “seemed to summon , bringing herself into a trance state just like a medium.” Elsewhere, Alford links the Booth family’s interest in spiritualism and the occult to patriarch Junius Brutus Booth, a talented but alcoholic and mentally unstable actor given to periodic breakdowns. During the Civil War, the Lincolns and Booths consulted the same mediums, including Englishman Charles Colchester (real name Jackson Sealby), who grew so alarmed by John Wilkes Booth’s threats against the president that he gave Lincoln “vague but repeated warnings to take care.” Though Alford occasionally wanders far afield from the book’s central theme, he packs the narrative with intriguing if little-known historical figures and strange coincidences. This unusual portrait of two famously intertwined families fascinates. (June)
New York Review of Books - David S. Reynolds
"Absorbing... Alford does a fine job of describing the Booths and their circle... Alford’s revelation of this and other connections between the Booths and the Lincolns is what distinguishes In the Houses of Their Dead from previous studies of spiritualism in the Lincoln White House... Alford ranges widely into the personal backgrounds of Lincoln and the Booth family, opening new vistas on both. His book is made up of many interwoven threads—neglected biographical facts, events of the Civil War, and acting styles—connected in varied ways to superstition or the afterlife... Alford’s portrayal of John Wilkes Booth is interestingly complex... [and] gives vivid accounts of the murder in Ford’s Theatre and the manhunt for Booth."
Booklist - Mark Knoblauch
"Alford introduces readers to many spiritualist-devoted characters who held influential posts in both military and government. This may hold special appeal for fans of George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo (2017), since it provides factual background for the popular novel."
Dennis Drabelle
"[E]ntertaining . . . worth reading for its wealth of Ripley’s Believe It or Not characters and their foibles."
Leah Greenblatt
"A lively study of two wildly disparate clans."
New York Times Book Review
Alford’s slim, meticulously referenced account, teased from the footnotes of history, is a page-turning pleasure.”
Library Journal - Audio
09/01/2022
Historian Alford (Fortune's Fool) brings an ingenious twist to the well-known tale of Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth. Alford adds details and corrects common misconceptions about their lives as the story works toward its inevitable conclusion. With the six degrees of separation theory in hand, the author points out every point where the lives of these two families intersected in the young and divided United States. Narrator Danny Campbell puts his experience and expertise to good use. His even, authoritative tone delivers the facts clearly, aiding in their absorption. This is especially important given the multitude of time lines being followed from beginning to end. One of the main themes throughout the book is the abundance and popularity of spiritualists and the spiritualism movement of this era. The Booths and Lincolns consulted many and had some in common. Life was precarious even without a civil war, and the living wanted to maintain their connections to their dearly departed. VERDICT Listeners will appreciate the clarity of voice Campbell executes, helping them keep it all straight and enhancing those moments they may not have known about before.—Laura Trombley
Kirkus Reviews
2022-03-29
A tale of two historically prominent families who shared a fascination with spiritualism.
That John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, is universally known, but no member of either family had met until that day—despite the fact that two Booth brothers and their father were nationally known actors and the Lincolns had attended their performances. Historian Alford cuts back and forth among the lives of Abraham and Mary Lincoln and Junius Booth and his sons Edwin and John Wilkes without ignoring lesser-known members of both families. Faithful to his theme, Alford reminds readers that 19th-century America was rife with superstition, and all of his subjects possessed elements of the true believer. Lincoln, for example, “refused to become the thirteenth person at a table once,” and the deaths of spouses and children were a common obsession. “Quasi-religious in nature,” writes Alford, “spiritualism held that the dead were nearby.” Skeptics abounded, and everyone agreed that many mediums were charlatans, but believers had no doubt that some could summon the dead. Although a skeptic about some aspects of spiritualism, Lincoln attended séances and sometimes praised the mediums, but he did not take them seriously. This was definitely not the case with his wife, Mary, devastated by the deaths of two children, her husband, and then another child; she remained a devoted spiritualist to her dying day. With a father and three sons on the stage, the Booths were no strangers to torment, mental illness, and personal tragedy, and they indulged in anything that might relieve their misery—although alcohol competed effectively with the occult. In the end, spiritualism contributed little to American politics of the time or even to theatrical history, but it preoccupied a good portion of the population. Nonetheless, even history buffs will find new information in Alford’s sympathetic examination.
Niche history but a good read.
