Fates and Traitors

I love Chiaverini’s historical fiction books. As with all the rest I was pulled into this story about John Wilkes Booth. At first, I was confused by what seemed like a disjointed story, but then I realized this was needed to flesh out all the other people in his life. One wonders at the path he chose to become remembered in American history.

I didn't know much about John Wilkes Booth before I read this novel. I only really knew he was the actor who killed President Lincoln.

I like the way Chiaverini tells Booth's story by writing each chapter through the point of view of a woman in his life. The first is his mother, then his sister, an inn keeper with whom he had a long personal relationship, and a young woman who was in love with him and was led to believe erroneously they would marry. This method of telling the story brings a more personal feeling to Chiaverini's writing.

The author appears to have done adequate research, resources are listed in Acknowledgements and I always like to see that in historical fiction. His sister's memoir is still in print, that might be show more interesting. One thing that didn't come through to me here is why Booth had such a strong tie to the South when his family did not. show less

Although its subtitle is "A Novel of John Wilkes Booth," Fates and Traitors - like nearly all of Jennifer Chiaverini's books - is really about women. In this case, four women whose lives were intricately tied to that of Lincoln's assassin: his mother, Mary Ann Holmes Booth; his sister, Asia Booth Clarke; his supposed fiancee, Lucy Hale; and a co-conspirator, Mary Surratt.

The book opens with a prologue from Booth's viewpoint about his capture, in which he is shot and as he is slowly dying, he thinks of these four women. Then his life's story is told through theirs in the next four chapters: his early years (1838-1851) with his mother, who has an fascinating background; the years 1851-1864 from his older sister Asia's point of view (she show more later became a poet and writer); then 1864-1865 as seen by both fiancee Lucy (daughter and later wife of senators) and Mary Surratt (the first woman hung by the federal government for her part in the plot to kill Lincoln).

This is followed by a chapter in John's voice again, set in 1865, just after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. The final chapters tell what happened to all four women in the rest of 1865, and end with Lucy in 1890. I knew very little of any of these women, and found their stories to be the intriguing ones. Telling the story this way, though, also adds to the mystique of Booth - because one can see how his words and actions sounded and appeared to others, yet still not be able to get fully inside his mind to fully understand his motivation to kill Lincoln.

The title comes from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene III, the last line:

"If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live.
If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive."

A longer passage including this line is the epithet of the book, rather fitting for Booth, who apparently stated his favorite Shakespearean role was that of Brutus, Caesar's lead assassin.

Chiaverini provides a map at the beginning of the book marking relevant locations in Washington, D. C., and lists her sources in three pages of acknowledgements at the end of the book. I liked this novel better than Chiaverini's other novels featuring Civil War era personages.

© Amanda Pape - 2017

[This book was borrowed from and returned to my local public library.] show less

Fates and Traitors is a fictionalized account of the lives of several people--particularly women--involved with John Wilkes Booth. The novel is divided into several sections, each taking a different point of view. The first is Mary Ann Holmes, wife of the renowned English Shakespearean actor Junius Brutus Booth. Through her, we learn that Booth abandoned his wife and child and, to avoid scandal, sailed for America with Mary Ann. (The two were only able to marry after many years and the birth of seven children.) Mary Ann's first section details her life as the wife of a travelling actor, trying to make ends meet on a Maryland farm in his absence. We hear from Mary Ann again, later in the story, and learn of her concerns for her show more children--particularly her favorite, known as Wilkes in the family, who resented his brothers' success on the stage and was determined to make a name for himself.

There are also several sections focused on Mary Surratt, a widowed tavern/boarding house owner with Confederate sympathies. It was in her home that the Lincoln assassins met to conspire, and her son was deeply involved in the plot as well. The author makes her own decisions as to the role that Mary herself might have played, but these sections make her a sympathetic mother to Junior and Anna, one who had survived abuse at the hands of their father and relied heavily on her Catholic faith.

Only one section presents the specific point of view of John Wilkes Booth; another focuses on his beloved sister Asia and is particularly moving in presenting her reactions to the aftermath of the assassination. Finally, there are a number of sections centered on Lucy Hale, daughter of a New Hampshire senator and reputed fiancée of Booth. I knew little about this woman and found her sections--Booth's courtship, her parents' disapproval, her reaction to the murder and Booth's death, and, finally, her life 25 years later--to be the most intriguing.

All of the characters are very well developed, and Chiaverini gives much insight into their thoughts, feelings, and motivations. These, rather than the Lincoln assassination itself, take center stage. Due to moving among several points of view, the story makes a number of shifts back and forth in time, but the author handles this well. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys character-driven historical fiction. show less

To be fair, I likely would have given this book another star had I not read Hanging Mary (also about the Lincoln assassination) just a few months ago. As it is, I did read that book and I found it far more compelling than Fates and Traitors. Still, I appreciate this novel for bringing Booth's sister, Asia, into the story. I had not encountered this woman previously and with the extensive writing she did later in life, she is certainly overlooked. Overall, this book is a good, but not great, novel about one of America's most dramatic episodes.

John Wilkes Booth is the central character in this historical fiction novel about his life. After completing the book, I was able to confirm that much of what happened in the novel was based on facts. I learned a great deal about Booth. His parents had a definitive role throughout his life, especially on his desire to become an actor. I did not know that his parents were not actually married until he was in his teens. Two of his brothers also were acclaimed actors; his sister Asia was someone to whom Booth was close. I enjoyed seeing a side of this man that is not often shared, especially since he was incredibly complex, intelligent person. None of this makes the crime he committed any less horrendous and cowardly as it was, of course, show more but I learned much about him as I read. show less

This was back to what I like about Jennifer Chiaverini. This was well written and I did not want to put it down. It makes you not hate the whole family of Booth's. This made the whole family seem real and gave a reason for why John Wilkes Booth did what he did. Still dislike him but can stand the family now. It is even hard to hate the other conspirators. Keep writing like this. I received an ebook copy of this from Firsttoread for a fair and honest opinion.