Edwin Booth (1833-1893) was one of America's greatest tragic actors, introducing into his characterizations an artistic sensitivity and completeness that replaced the bombast of earlier times.

Edwin Booth had little schooling. Instead, he accompanied his actor father, Junius Brutus Booth, on the theatrical circuits, ostensibly to attend him but really to control the elder genius's drinking and erratic behavior, a problem Edwin himself later had. Edwin first took up drama in 1849 and thereafter played minor roles, until in New York, in 1851, his father's illness (real or feigned) permitted him to substitute as Richard III. Edwin was an immediate success.

Booth modestly continued his training in a variety of major and minor roles, first in California and later in the South. In Richmond, Va., he fell in love with Mary Devlin, who became his wife. Returning to New York in 1857, he was acclaimed for his brilliant and forceful portrayals...