April 30, 2007
Wemmlinger’s first novel, set in the 1880s, explores the life of Edwin Booth, a famous actor and older brother to John Wilkes Booth, as seen through the eyes of his daughter. Edwina Booth was only three when Lincoln’s assassination occurred (“what Papa and I referred to as 'The Subject’ ”), yet her close relation to the Presidential assassin often resurfaces and causes her great distress. (The assassination of President Garfield, for instance, causes a resurgence of interest in Lincoln’s murder.) Edwina is subject to prying questions about her infamous uncle and must also negotiate delicate social situations (at one of her father’s performances, she is seated across from former President Grant, who was to have occupied the seat in which Lincoln was shot). At 18, Edwina aspires to marry her best friend’s brother, Downing Vaux, and to devote herself to his career. When her father decides to act on the European stage, the couple must endure months of separation. Downing suffers a nervous breakdown and their engagement is broken off, leaving Edwina lonely and directionless. Fortunately, she meets Ignatius Grossmann, a kind man whose friendship helps submissive Edwina see her father in a new light, namely as a manipulative, domineering man who owes much of his fame to his brother’s notoriety. Edwina ultimately finds the strength to stand up to her father and begin to live life on her own terms. Fans of Ann Rinaldi will be drawn to Wemmlinger’s impeccably researched and compelling debut. Ages 12-up.
September 1, 2007
Gr 7 Up-This story, set in the elegant society of the 1880s, keeps readers at a distance that emulates the social period of the times. Despite being told in first person by Edwina, the niece of assassin John Wilkes Booth, the novel retains a detached quality, never showing more than would be polite in mixed company. While her father, Edwin, is a wonderful actor and worthy of accolades, the attention the Booth family receives is more of the "notorious" variety due to their familial association with the man who shot President Lincoln. The teen's desire to be a good, supportive daughter to her temperamental father and mentally unbalanced stepmother overrides standing up for what she believes is most important in her life: getting married to Downing Vaux and beginning her own family. Circumstances make Edwina's plans spiral out of control, leaving her with no choice but to follow her father's arrangement of her life. Wemmlinger presents an interesting picture of upper middle class existence in this debut novel set at a time when women were just beginning to see themselves as autonomous. Thoughtful teens will enjoy "Booth's Daughter"."Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI"
Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
February 15, 2007
"[My] last name had a great problem attached to it," says Edwina Booth; in this historically inspired first novel, her complaint applies both to her uncle's years-past assassination of Lincoln and to the burden of living in the shadow of her famous dad, actor Edwin Booth. The curator of New York's Hampden-Booth Theatre Library, Wemmlinger focuses primarily on the father-daughter relationship, which is shaken as Edwina contemplates marriage and begins to question whether her egocentric parent has her interests at heart. The first-person narrative often bogs down in historical details, but elements reminiscent of an Edith Wharton novel--the mannered social interactions, Gilded Age settings, and matrimony-bound momentum--will draw many romantically inclined readers, who will delight in the sweet inevitability of Edwina's love match as much as in the closing message: "Grab your own chance at happiness. You can make others happy only if you're happy yourself." An afterword offers a list of sources that can help readers negotiate the underpinnings of the story. Also suggest James Cross Giblin's excellent nonfiction " Good Brother, Bad Brother " (2005). (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)