John Wilkes Booth and the Women Who Loved Him

When John Wilkes Booth died—shot inside a burning barn and dragged out twelve days after he assassinated President Lincoln—all he had in his pocket were a compass, a candle, a diary, and five photographs of five different women. They were not ordinary women. Four of them were among the most beautiful actresses of the day; the fifth was Booth's wealthy fiancée.

And those five women are just the tip of the iceberg.

Before he shot the president of the United States and entered the anna...