Booth Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Booth Family and Shakespeare in the 19th Century United States and our BookBrowse Review of Booth.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Booth is a story about John Wilkes Booth, an infamous figure in American history. But Karen Joy Fowler doesn't center the narrative on John, instead choosing to tell the story of the Booth family, from the struggles of his parents to his many siblings. Why do you think Fowler chose to write this story in this way?
2. Fowler's last book, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, was organized around a secret—a secret that the characters know but the reader does not. Booth is organized around something the reader knows but the characters do not. How did your awareness of Lincoln's assassination impact your reading?
3. The Booths live in a two-story, two-room log cabin miles from any major city. How are the Booths perceived in their insular neighborhood deep in the woods? What effect do you think this secluded location has on the children's development—particularly that of Edwin, John, and Rosalie?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of G.P. Putnam's Sons. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.