'Asia Frigga Booth' (
November 19,
1835 in
Bel Air, Maryland-
May 16,
1888 in
Bournemouth, England), was the youngest daughter in the family of ten children born to
Junius Brutus Booth and his mistress Mary Ann Holmes. Her famous brothers were
Edwin Booth and
John Wilkes Booth.
On April 28, 1859 in
Baltimore, Maryland, she married
John Sleeper Clarke and bore him 8 children, 2 of whom, Creston and Wilfred, became actors. Because of the
assassination of
Abraham Lincoln in 1865 by John Wilkes and the effect this had upon the family, she and her husband emigrated to England, where they remained. Asia became the poet and writer in the family, and it is through her work that we are able to gain some insight into the lives of the Booths, particularly John Wilkes. ''The Unlocked Book, John Wilkes Booth, a Sister's Memoir'' was written in 1874, but she kept its existence secret fearing it would upset her husband, who had been imprisoned because of his association with the assassin, and being called to testify at the trials of the co-conspirators. It was not published until 1938 by C.P. Putnam's Sons, when her heirs felt the public would be receptive.
Writings of Asia Booth
★ The Unlocked Book, John Wilkes Booth, a Sister's Memoir
★ Booth, The Elder and the Younger.
★ PASSAGES, INCIDENTS, AND ANECDOTES IN THE LIFE OF JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH, (THE ELDER) - BOOTH MEMORIALS, Carleton, Publisher, New York, 1866
See also
★
Booth Family
★
List of show business families
External links
★
The Booth Collection, University of North Carolina