Brooklyn Ashes (The Rise of a City and the Brooklyn Theatre Fire of 1876)

At the height of America’s Gilded Age, perhaps no other city in the country experienced such a radical change as Brooklyn. From a loose collection of Dutch villages that experienced virtually no crime at the beginning of the 19th century, to a rapidly urbanized area with a population bursting at the seams, a matter of decades rendered Brooklyn unrecognizable. Amidst booming growth, a righteous clash between the Church of the old world and the rising political machine of the new world underscored a coming shift in morals from purity to profit. The Brooklyn Theater, built upon the site of one of Brooklyn’s oldest Churches, and in the face strident backlash from the religious community, was a symbol of this future. Until it all burned down.

Brooklyn Ashes is the gripping story of the Brooklyn Theater Fire of 1876, a catastrophe that has been largely forgotten but made headlines across the globe as then one of the world’s greatest tragedies. In this moving and meticulously researched book, Arthur Scinta introduces a cast of characters that act as paradigms of a changing city. Meet Charles Lott, a young cop descended from a Dutch Family that first settled Brooklyn in the 1600s; Charles Lund, a first-generation American who represents the future, displaying ambition and an eagerness to work and save; and Charles Vine, a recent immigrant who puts his bare knuckles to work for the corrupt political ring that controlled the local media, rigged elections, and was ultimately responsible for the deadly inferno. Meet also the actors and actresses putting on a show they would never forget while the fire sparked backstage. At the center of it all is William C. Kingsley, the corrupt developer in charge of building the Theater in the shadow of another, much bigger project at the same time: the Brooklyn Bridge, a venture that would have fatal implications for theater goers.

Based on intense investigation of primary sources and using details from a treasure-trove of seemingly forgotten archives, Brooklyn Ashes is a moving and landmark history. With more than 300 lives lost, and heralding major building reforms for New York City, the Brooklyn Theater Fire remains one of the deadliest fires in modern history. Through touching storytelling and trenchant analysis, Scinta gives justice to victims and provides a stark reminder of the cost of political corruption.