Two hours later, when much of the audience had filed out, Deb and I remained in our seats, lost in thought.
#Goodrich little theatre free
To compound my chagrin, as we hiked back into the crowded lobby, another lady stepped forward and offered us tickets- free tickets! And so, when the curtain went up and the hall finally quieted, I, the historian, sat stewing in my seat, more or less determined not to enjoy myself. But as I sat in the packed theater, not only was I miffed at missing a day’s worth of research, I also was upset that I hadn’t forced Deb to dicker down the woman to, say, five dollars a ticket or, depending on her desperation, a much more appealing five dollars for both. The good lady was no scalper-the tickets were clearly marked $10 each. Would you like to buy them?"īefore I had time to think and answer No, thanks, Deb was counting out twenty dollars. "I have these two tickets to Reunion that we can’t use. . . . It’s about the Civil War. A half-hour run through the Ford’s museum below would now mushroom into a half-day downtime in the theater above.Įxcuse me, sir, said a lady who had approached us earlier as we stepped from the theater onto the busy sidewalk.
But today? Time was short, we needed to be busy, and here we were in a noisy theater playing tourists for a matinee musical of dubious quality. And at almost any other time I would have died to view a live performance on this historic stage-it is what every American historian dreams of. Every minute tarried added to our bills-and my woes.Īt almost any other time I would have loved to be sitting in Ford’s Theater-it had been a desired destination of mine for years. We still had plenty of material to go over, perhaps several days’ worth of work, and, as anyone who has spent time in the capital knows, D.C. The story unrolls with Lincoln’s assassination and describes the horrific conditions in the South following the Civil War, caused in large part by the murder of the sixteenth president. Deb and I had come to Washington the day before to conclude research on a book we’d been pounding out for nearly a year, The Day Dixie Died. While the excited, noisy chatter among the pre-teens and tour groups rose to a roar as the curtain call approached, I sat mostly mute. WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION of one or two screaming infants, I was undoubtedly the most disgruntled and agitated person in the audience. Includes bibliographical references and index.ġ. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataĪnd the great American tragedy / Thomas Goodrich. Manufactured in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Williams, founding Chair of The Lincoln Forum Read more “Among the hundreds of books published about the assassination of our 16th president, this is an exceptional volume.” -Frank J. The result is a gripping account, filled with detail and as fresh as today’s news. Thomas Goodrich brings to his narrative the care of the historian and the flair of the fiction writer. The story has been told many times, but rarely with the immediacy of The Darkest Dawn. The president who had steered the nation through its bloodiest crisis was cut down before the end, just as it appeared that the bloodshed was over. The conspirators brought to justice.Ĭoming just days after the surrender of the Confederate Army at Appomattox, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln has become etched in the national consciousness like few other events. It was one of the most tragic events in American history: The famous president, beloved by many, reviled by some, murdered while viewing a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington. The story of the Lincoln assassination and its aftermath, captured with you-are-there immediacy.
0 kommentar(er)
