John Wilkes Booth and Robert Lincoln - Rivals in Love?

Reprinted in its entirety, is the fascinating tale of jealous rivalry for the affections of the beautiful socialite, (Lucy) Bessie Hale — her suitors being none other than John Wilkes Booth and Robert Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln — the date being 1865 in the days leading up to the President’s assassination. The eye-witness account is that of a Mrs. Temple, who lived at the National Hotel with the Hale family and Bessie, and who was also a friend to both Booth and Lincoln. She provided the account to Alexander Hunter who later published it in 1878 in a Chicago newspaper, the Daily Inter-Ocean. Barbour brings this absorbing story to light once more in this reprint and adds supplemental material in his “After Notes.” As he states, “Many theories have been advanced concerning Booth’s motives for assassinating President Lincoln. This story provides yet another.”