by Cara Robertson
Overall: A meticulously researched deep dive into the murder of Andrew and Abby Borden in 1893, The Trial of Lizzie Borden describes the crime, its aftermath, the “investigation” (if you can call it that) by the police force, the trial, and what followed. If all you know about Lizzie Borden is the nursery rhyme about the “40 whacks,” this book is eye-opening. And it’s still a puzzle: either the murderer had to be a very lucky maniac from outside the household, or Lizzie Borden managed to get away with murder by an almost amazing ability to conceal any evidence pointing to her guilt.
Likes: Robertson does an excellent job of contextualizing the Borden family’s life. She explains the frustration and stifling boredom surrounding the lives of unmarried, middle-class women like Lizzie in New England during this era. Not permitted to work for pay and having no children or household of her own to manage, Lizzie’s life was one of perpetual childhood, ever dependent on and subordinate to her father and stepmother. There is also a lot of fascinating supporting material about how people in this era regarded crime (complete with horrible racial, ethnic, and class stereotypes) and how women criminals were understood. Did you know women were considered more susceptible to criminal acts when they were menstruating?
Dislikes: at times the level of detail becomes exhausting. The reader doesn’t really need to know what the judge, jury, and attorneys did on the weekend, or the topic of the sermon the jury heard on Sunday. The most interesting section for me was the first part, which details the crime; the sections about the trial proceedings dragged a bit for me.
FYI: as this is a book about one of the most notorious and gruesome murders in American history, you should only read this book if you’re prepared for details about head wounds caused by hatchet blows (including casts of the victims’ skulls and photographs of the victims at the crime scene).
Liz Helfrich 