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READER MAILBAG 
July 2012 
Dear SeacoastNH.com

I recently read an article you wrote titled, The New Dying Words of John Wilkes Booth and I wanted to say how much I loved it. I have always been fascinated by the Lincoln Assassination and Conspiracy and this year I started learning about Lucy Hale; Booth's fiancée. There is not much information about her but through various research I found your article and I thought it was brilliant. I'm a creative writing major and I've always found something romantic in the dysfunctional loving engagement of Lucy and John, so much in fact that I began writing a book about it. (Continue letter and read reply below)

I found your article very touching because he did love her and the fact that he may have said her name with his dying breath shows that he wasn't the bloodthirsty killer he was made out to be. I'm also a fan of the movie, The Day Lincoln was Shot for the reason that she was included and it showed another side to Booth; a compassionate side that no one remembers him having. You make a valid point in the article too. Lucy's father denied any contact between his daughter and Booth and got his way because of his political power. If he could wield his "senator sword" to keep the press away from his family, what's to say that he didn't have a hand in telling the Union to change her fiance's final words? The first reason I sent this was because I really wanted to tell you how much I enjoy reading and rereading your article. It is fantastic and well written and poses an argument that no one has even thought of before. But it poses it in such a way that you don't feel like it couldn't have happened. He very well might have said "Lucy" and you include some great evidence to back up your hypothesis. The second reason for this email is that I was wondering if you had any information on Lucy or if you knew where any information might be located? Even though I've only been studying her life since April, I'm running out of sources since there don't seem to be many. I know Lucy is from Dover, New Hampshire (I want to visit her house this coming summer) and the website you own and write for is about New Hampshire as well.  -- from Kate R

ALSO READ THE ESSAY:  The Elusive Trail of Lucy Hale

SeacoastNH Responds: Thanks Kate, that one goes back a decade, but like you, (and others who have written to me over the years) I’ve got a book on the back burner about Lucy and John. I’m not sure I have any faith in my own hypothesis, but years ago, immersed in the research on the two characters, it just popped out. IT was a bit of parody too, since so many academics and conspiracy theorists have burned so many hours ruminating and arguing over details we will certainly never know for sure. I was just tossing one more monkey wrench into the machine. A few Lincoln experts have taken the time to tell me how ridiculous my theory is, and I wouldn’t disagree with that. From my reading of Booth (and I have a shelf full of books on the assassination that I didn’t have when I wrote that essay years ago) I see no evidence that he was anything but a conniving, cowardly conspirator, jealous of his brother Edwin and in love with his own good looks (which really don’t show up in photos, at least not to the modern eye.)  Booth was a practiced liar and a smooth character who manipulated everyone around him. I’m pretty sure, in retrospect, that Booth was just exploiting Lucy for her connection to the White House, but it certainly is possible that even he had a soft spot in his hard heart, especially when he knew his end had come. Remember he had pictures of a number of women in his pocket, which tends to undermine the theory that he called her name with his dying breath. I did revise that article and add a little more on Lucy in this essay. I have a few more details squirreled away, but am holding them close on the rare chance that I get to write about these two again. Good luck with your project.

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