Today I have a review of The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson. This book is available now from Simon and Schuster! Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the invitation to review!
My Thoughts:
Cara Robertson spent twenty years researching Lizzie Borden’s case, and this is her first book. The depth and breadth to this research shows immediately making this a resource for anyone interested in this trial, one of mythic proportions in the United States, still well-known and pondered over one hundred and twenty years later.
Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally murdered in 1892, and shocking everyone, their daughter Lizzie was arrested and charged.
The trial became international news and a spectacle that the United States hadn’t known at the time. Reporters traveled from all over to attend the trial. Lizzie was scrutinized from every angle possible. And not unlike today, every citizen possessed an opinion on what really happened.
Cara Robertson heavily researched everything she could obtain regarding the Bordens and the trial, including court transcripts, newspaper articles, local information, and fascinatingly, letters from Lizzie herself.
My favorite aspects of the book included the commentary on the culture of society at the time. Some purport Lizzie was found innocent simply because society couldn’t believe that women were capable of murder. It also showcased the fever pitch, not unlike today’s time, where everyone rushes to judgment before a trial. While the book is rich in details, I never found it overbearing because I was so enthralled with examining the case through my own amateur lens.
At the end of the book, I’m not sure if Lizzie was guilty or not, and I had every piece of information laid out in front of me, even more so that than those at the trial at the time! Also of note is all the pictures included. They added to my understanding of the place and time and thoroughly enriched my reading experience.
If you are as enthralled with the trial of Lizzie Borden as many in this country have been for over one-hundred years, check this one out. No stone is left unturned by Cara Robertson!
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis:
The remarkable new account of an essential piece of American mythology—the trial of Lizzie Borden—based on twenty years of research and recently unearthed evidence.
The Trial of Lizzie Borden tells the true story of one of the most sensational murder trials in American history. 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 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?
The popular fascination with the Borden murders and its central enigmatic character has endured for more than one hundred years. Immortalized in rhyme, told and retold in every conceivable genre, the murders have secured a place in the American pantheon of mythic horror, but one typically wrenched from its historical moment. In contrast, Cara Robertson explores the stories Lizzie Borden’s culture wanted and expected to hear and how those stories influenced the debate inside and outside of the courtroom. 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 offers a window onto America in the Gilded Age, showcasing its most deeply held convictions and its most troubling social anxieties.
Have you read The Trial of Lizzie Borden, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR
Adding this to my wishlist, I love the mystery surrounding Lizzie Borden and I’d love to try and unravel it! Great review and fab kitty pic as usual 😄
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This seems so interesting and intriguing! I’ll add it to my wishlist right now!
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I think we will never know if she was guilty. I have this book and now must get to it. Terrific review, Jennifer.
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Thanks so much, Marialyce! I look forward to what you think, and I agree- we will never know. Even when it’s all put out there, it’s just not enough to really know.
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Ah this book looks intriguing! Definitely adding it to my list. Great review, Jenn!
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Thanks so much, Stephen! It’s an excellent read! SO much good detail to comb over!
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Lovely review Jen! Sounds intriguing. I wonder if she really killed them or not?? Maybe I can learn more about it so I’m going to add this one to my TBR!😂 Have a wonderful week my friend!😀🌻😽💝
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Thanks, Sus! When I saw it all laid out in front of me, I still had no idea! Another for the ‘ole mountain, eh? What’s one more? I hope you have a wonderful week too! 💕
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I take it this is non-fiction, right? I prefer fiction, and if you’re into this subject, you should read “See What I Have Done” by Sarah Schmidt. My review is here: https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2017/06/10/the-clock-on-the-mantle-ticked-ticked/
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Thanks, Davida! Yes, this is nonfiction. I like to read both genres, and I bought that book, See What I Have Done, but I haven’t read it yet. I’ll check out your review!
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Love your model in the picture! Wonderful review, Jennifer. I cannot wait to read this historical nonfiction. Happy Monday! 🌺🌺🐾🐾😻💕📚🌸🌸
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Thank you so much, Virginia! She’s all stretched out! 😂 I hope you get a chance to give this one a try and hope your Monday was wonderful! ♥️
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I’ve always been intrigued by Lizzie Borden’s story, like many others, and this sounds like a well researched accounting. Thanks for sharing this😁
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Thanks so much, Tammy! She’s definitely a fascinating piece of history. This is a thorough and detailed compendium about the trial and the family.
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Wonderful review! I have this to read!
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Thank you, Berit! I hope you enjoy it too!
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Great review! This sounds fascinating. I love true crime, as you know, and especially when it casts light in the society in which it’s set. I only know the broad outline of the Lizzie Borden story – I fear you and Eva will be happy to know this one will be making its way onto my wishlist… 😉
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Thanks, FF! Oh, I love it! Plus one for me! I wish we could tag Eva! ♥️ This book is really heavy with the details, but in my mind, it is a compendium of sorts. The author researched for twenty years, and it shows. I had fun playing amateur sleuth!
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Oh I love non fiction where the author goes above and beyond to put all the facts out before us and the research really shows. I am not familiar with this case but it seems like a really intriguing read! Great review, Jennifer!
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Thanks, Darina! It’s a fascinating and intriguing case. The court found her innocent, but the community had already found her guilty in their minds. The “story” was made into a “rhyme” and everyone still knows it to this day.
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Fab review! I definitely need to get hold of a copy of this one. I read Sarah Schmidt’s fictionalised account of Lizzie Borden (See What I Have Done) a year or so back and ever since then I’ve wanted to read a non-fiction account of the case. I think this might be the book so I will go look it up now. 🙂
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Thanks, Hayley! I think this will be a good follow-up to that one. It will definitely familiarize you with all the details left out of the fictional account. I look forward to what you think if you are able to fit it in.
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I think this sounds fascinating. Always so important to have something like this heavily researched too. Wonderful review.
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Thanks so much, Chrissi! I agree about the research, and the author did her homework in this case. She really worked hard on the details. ♥️
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Absolutely brilliant review. I like books like this, they give you all the facts and info but don’t try to push you into a difinitive answer!
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Thank you so much, Yvonne! You’ve nailed exactly what this is- it lays it all out there for you to decide on your own, and it’s brilliant that way. ♥️
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I actually don’t know that much about this case, so I’m excited to read this one!
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I hope you enjoy it, Angela!
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The Lizzie Borden trial fascinates me so I could see myself enjoying this read even though I don’t normally read much nonfiction. LOL at your cat in the background!
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It is such a fascinating case, Suzanne. No wonder it’s held the interest of this country for generations. My girl, Harper! She’s a relaxed kinda girl when she’s sleeping! 😂
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I’m actually not too familiar with the Lizzie Borden trial so I guess this could be a great starting point! It sounds super comprehensive and I always love it when nonfiction includes pictures and news articles/letters. And someone’s relaxed stretchy in the back there! 😀
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OOPS, I MEANT “someone’s looking relaxed in the back” 😂
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That’s my stretchy, zen girl, Kathy! Harper plays hard and relaxes hard! 😂 ♥️ This is a wonderfully comprehensive book about the trial. It’s like true crime nonfiction and really fascinating!
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I don’t recall ever reading a book about Lizzie Borden but also can’t recall ever NOT knowing about her. Excellent review, Jennifer, as you’ve now convinced me to read something substantive about this iconic woman.
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Thank you, Jonetta! This is definitely a substantive read about her. I am impressed with all the author’s hard work!
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Honestly I do worry about myself because I have massive heart eyes for books based on murderesses and a did she/ didn’t she approach. I’m beginning to think I need to set up my own category on Goodreads except I’m going to come across as odd…
I was intrigued to see this crop up as I haven’t seen it before and now it’s added onto my TBR. I swear I’m not weird, I just think I really enjoy complexities of women (in fiction and real life) and this image that we’re either heartless, vixen seductresses with murder on the mind or we’re innocent and pure and incapable of violence. It’s the whole Madonna/ whore complex I think and that’s why I’m intrigued!
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You are so cute, Gerry! I totally get it! I find societies’ changing values fascinating! And these types of cases! This book will be a dream for you! Chock full of detail! I hope you get a chance to check it out and see if you still have heart eyes. 😍
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Oh wow I am going to have to let my uncle know about this one, he has been a huge Lizzie Borden fanatic ever since I can remember. Funny story, my mother in law grew up in Fall River! So when we went on a trip to visit family up there my husband and I stopped y the historical society museum and they have an entire room dedicated to Lizzie. They even have the braid of hair they cut off when she was imprisoned! So crazy. Anyway, will definitely have to take a look at this book. 🙂
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I hope you get a chance to check this one out, Lisa! It covers it all! How fascinating about your MIL and Fall River and the museum! Another follower mentioned she worked in the prison, and there are bits of nostalgia there, too. By the way, I’m back in Twitter jail. I’ve been sharing your posts the last couple days and I don’t think you are seeing my shares. I’ll lay low for a couple days and hopefully I’ll be fixed soon! ♥️
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I had wondered because I saw a share you had done come up in my regular feed but I hadn’t gotten a notification lol. Hopefully you’ll be back to normal soon!
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Thank you! Me, too!
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Wow. Excellent review. 20 years – this sounds so amazing !
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Thanks, Anne! It’s quite a comprehensive look and so well-done!
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20 years, wow! That’s some dedication!
I had a book when i was a kid that had all kinds of unexplained mysteries (criminal ones, not supernatural ones) and Lizzie Borden’s case was one. I always found it so fascinating.
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I agree, Norrie! She worked hard on this one! Oh, how fascinating about your book and that she was in it!
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Ah this truly is a fascinating case – especially given the notoriety and inability to concretely confirm whether Lizzie was responsible for killing her parents. I am 100% adding this to my TBR list – I would devour this in a heartbeat!
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I have a bit of a Lizzie Borden obsession so this is a must read for me. Thanks!
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My pleasure! I hope you enjoy it too!
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