Thursday, July 07, 2005

Book Review - Lizzie Borden, The Untold Story

Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

'Lizzie Borden, The Untold Story' by Edward D. Radin


It seems from reading this book that everything we know about Lizzie Borden is wrong. The question is still asked at the end of the book, "Did she or didn't she?", but this book presents facts either unknown or long ignored by many Lizzie Borden storytellers.

A Mr. Edmund Pearson, whose works on the Lizzie Borden trial were considered the final word in the matter ignored much of the court testimony that exonerated Lizzie. Certain facts in the case were left out of his writings. Edward Radin goes through the court records and news articles of the time presenting much information that is missing from the poem and the story as we know it. Well written in easy to understand layman's terms I would suggest this book for any who like real crime stories...

As an aside I'll also suggest a visit to Alice Beard's website where, near the bottom of the page, she has - quote - The genealogy game of "Lizzie Borden"... The object of the genealogy game is to see if you can claim Lizzie as a distant cousin. You know, so when you're having a bad day, you can say, "Leave me alone. I've got PMS, and I'm a cousin of Lizzie Borden."... - end quote - You have to build your own genealogy list to compare with Lizzie's but this would be a great conversation stopper at parties and such... -