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The Trial of Lizzie Borden
WINNER OF THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY BOOK AWARD In Cara Robertson's "enthralling new book," The Trial of Lizzie Borden, "the reader is to serve as judge and jury" (The New York Times). Based on twenty years of research and recently unearthed evidence, this true crime and legal history is the "definitive account to date of one of America's most notorious and enduring murder mysteries" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). When Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally hacked to death in Fall River, Massachusetts, in August 1892, the arrest of the couple's younger daughter Lizzie turned the case into international news and her murder trial into a spectacle unparalleled in American history. Reporters flocked to the scene. Well-known columnists took up conspicuous seats in the courtroom. The defendant was relentlessly scrutinized for signs of guilt or innocence. Everyone--rich and poor, suffragists and social conservatives, legal scholars, and laypeople--had an opinion about Lizzie Borden's guilt or innocence. Was she a cold-blooded murderess or an unjustly persecuted lady? Did she or didn't she? An essential piece of American mythology, the popular fascination with the Borden murders has endured for more than one hundred years. Told and retold in every conceivable genre, the murders have secured a place in the American pantheon of mythic horror. In contrast, "Cara Robertson presents the story with the thoroughness one expects from an attorney...Fans of crime novels will love it" (Kirkus Reviews). Based on transcripts of the Borden legal proceedings, contemporary newspaper accounts, unpublished local accounts, and recently unearthed letters from Lizzie herself, The Trial of Lizzie Borden is "a fast-paced, page-turning read" (Booklist, starred review) that offers a window into America in the Gilded Age. This "remarkable" (Bustle) book "should be at the top of your reading list" (PopSugar).
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Community Reviews
We all know the story of Lizzie Borden. Or do we? All I knew was from that fun little ditty, "Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother 40 whacks..." And also the TV movie with Elizabeth Montgomery from a hundred years ago. And all I remember from that is that Elizabeth Montgomery was in it. :-) No, I did not see the Chloe Sevigny movie. Yet.
This was very interesting to me, as someone who works in the court system, to see how the actual trial itself unfolded, the evidentiary issues and how they were handled, how the lawyers and judges conducted themselves, and how the court reporters (stenographers) were able to give them daily copy even back in 1893. The author did exhaustive research and was able to recreate every day of the trial, not just from the court reporters' transcripts but from media reports during the trial and other sources. She also provided details on the Borden family life and the household, and the complicated layout of the house itself, making one believe simultaneously that Lizzie couldn't have done it but also no one else BUT Lizzie could've done it. Still a fascinating case, more than 125 years later.
This was very interesting to me, as someone who works in the court system, to see how the actual trial itself unfolded, the evidentiary issues and how they were handled, how the lawyers and judges conducted themselves, and how the court reporters (stenographers) were able to give them daily copy even back in 1893. The author did exhaustive research and was able to recreate every day of the trial, not just from the court reporters' transcripts but from media reports during the trial and other sources. She also provided details on the Borden family life and the household, and the complicated layout of the house itself, making one believe simultaneously that Lizzie couldn't have done it but also no one else BUT Lizzie could've done it. Still a fascinating case, more than 125 years later.
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