Is it telling that America’s longest-standing true crime fascination doesn’t have a definitive account? For all the books and movies that have been made about the 1892 murders of two respectable elder citizens of Fall River, Massachusetts, the closest to canonical might be the children’s rhyme that became familiar during the subject’s own lifetime.

Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother 40 whacks
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father 41.

The rhyme captures what America has basically come to assume about Borden: she did it, right? She totally did it. She had the means and the motive, and after 127 years, there’s still no other plausible suspect.

Yet, a jury of Lizzie Borden’s peers declared her innocent. In fact, Cara Robertson notes in her new book about the trial, the judgment came so quickly that the foreman didn’t even wait for the judge to finish asking the question before blurting, “Not guilty!” The jurors came to their verdict so quickly that they hung around in the deliberation room for a half-hour just “as a matter of courtesy.”

Robertson is a lawyer who’s been studying the Borden case for over two decades, and it’s significant that she focuses on the trial rather than on the murders themselves. So much remains unknown about the crimes that, as Robertson observes, every era has projected its own preoccupations into the void.

Most recently, last year’s movie Lizzie posited that Borden (Chloë Sevigny) was involved in a sexual affair with the family’s Irish maid (Kristen Stewart), who was also being assaulted by Borden’s father. Less speculatively, screenwriter Bryce Kass also alludes to a motive that, Robertson argues, was hard for the 1893 jury to wrap their heads around: financial independence.

Robertson opens a window into the ennui-laden world of an upper-middle-class woman in late 19th century New England. Despite the fact that Borden, at 32, was fully middle-aged given her era’s life expectancy, both the prosecution and the defense at her trial constantly referred to her as essentially a girl: an unmarried ward of her father.

Both sides assumed that the family’s relative material comfort made a financial motive implausible, which — as Robertson points out — meant they neglected perhaps the greatest import of the hour-plus gap between the death of Borden’s stepmother and her father.

The trial understandably focused on how the lag presented the difficulty of a hypothetical outside assassin hiding in a modestly-sized house while Abby Borden lay in a gory puddle all morning, but it also meant that Andrew Borden’s wealth passed directly to his descendants, without any shares going to his second wife’s heirs.

Not only was Borden assumed to be incapable of such deliberate calculation, prosecutor Hosea Knowlton didn’t even try to argue that she premeditated her father’s murder at all. Abby, he said, was her intended victim; she only killed her father in an attack of hysteria exacerbated by the fact that she was on her period.

Knowlton was thoroughly outmaneuvered by Borden’s savvy defense, writes Robertson, but the prosecution may have been a lost cause from the get-go. In the absence of direct evidence, no amount of circumstantial detail could convince the jury that Lizzie Borden extensively contemplated the double murder, first attempting to procure poison and finally settling on a bloodier method.

In one perfectly plausible timeline, Borden planned the killings carefully and executed them near-flawlessly. While the maid was outside washing windows, Borden slew her stepmother and told the maid Abby had been received a note from a sick friend who she rushed to visit. (No note was ever found, nor did any such friend ever come forward.)

Lizzie then waited until her father was napping on the couch and brought the axe down on his face, repeatedly and with such force that his skull was shattered and one of his eyeballs was slit by the blade. She then sawed the handle off the axe and burned it, washing the blade and covering it with ashes to make it appear that it had been lying on the basement floor for some time.

She changed out of her dress and hid the one she wore during the murders. (Lizzie the movie, of course, picks up on the scintillating suggestion that Borden got around this problem by murdering in the nude.) She burned the dress shortly thereafter, saying she did so because it was spattered with paint…despite that fact that in their search of the her wardrobe, the police found no paint-spattered apparel.

In short, it seems, Borden got away with the perfect murders — despite it being almost impossible to imagine any way outside parties could have found their way into the Bordens’ well-secured house, or any reason anyone might have done so. As the consternated Knowlton pointed out, even the absence of an obvious murder weapon strengthened the case against Lizzie. Why would an escaping murder have carried the bloody axe out onto the street?

What was inconceivable to Borden’s jurors seems perfectly obvious now, and that speaks volumes about they way they looked at women like Lizzie. There may also have been a sense of elites closing ranks, Robertson suggests. Appalled by the notion that a member of the well-respected Borden family (albeit an occupant of the family’s lower rungs) could be convicted of cold-blooded murder, the Fall River elites nonetheless treated Borden like an axe murderer after her acquittal.

With the publication of Robertson’s book, America at last has a confident and reasonably concise account of this infamous case. The Trial of Lizzie Borden spends more time in procedural detail, and less time in analysis, than most readers will probably want — but the focus is understandable given Robertson’s background and interests.

The book also leaves one suspecting that the definitive Borden story might not focus on the murders or the trial, but rather on the aging Lizzie living quietly in the large home she purchased for herself with her inheritance. She wasn’t welcome in the town’s best circles, and what Robertson describes as a “close, if short-lived friendship” with the actor Nance O’Neil “scandalized” Borden’s sister Emma, who moved out and never spoke to Lizzie again.

Lizzie, it seems, had achieved what may have been her true motive all along: independence. The price was pyrrhic, but by the end of The Trial, you may understand why she would have been ready to pay.

I had a hard time with this book. I really wanted to like it, but it was really, really dry, which is a big no-no for me in nonfiction. The BULK of this book is a play-by-play of Lizzie Borden's trial. This shouldn't be a surprise—trial is in the title and the author is a graduate of Yale law school. This is her jam. However, it's much more of a history book than a true crime book. I think as I read that we were supposed to agree that Lizzie was innocent, but not real evidence was put forth, or put forth in a clear way, to lead us to other suspects. The last chapter, Coda, does some speculation, which was helpful and probably the most interesting chapter of the book for me.

Besides the dryness, the writing is good. The author has clearly done extensive amounts of research and is very knowledgeable in her field. For those of us that are less historical or less knowledgeable in law, a bit more of interpretative work would have made a world of difference.

If you like history, pick this book. If you like true crime, I would give this a pass.

I was amazing at the detail found in this book, excellent recap on the events of Lizzie Borden's life. I wouldn't use this in the classroom since it is directed more towards an older audience. If you are a fanatic of crime and mystery, this is definitely for you.

Although I was looking forward to reading this book, it was SO DRY. So many facts, it just wasn't an enjoyable read.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

A fascinating look at Lizzie Borden the infamous Lizzie Borden ,her life the trial.True crime lovers this is an engrossing look at this famous crime .#netgalley #simon& Schuster

GUILTY!

That's what I've always said about Lizzie Borden.

That being said, reading the actual transcripts from her trial is incredibly aggravating.
Fall River Police BOTCHED this investigation.

Now that may just be my Criminal Justice/Forensics background coming out.
But honestly, there was no way in hell the jury could have found her guilty with the information that was presented to them. I honestly understand why so many people believe she's not guilty.

I, however, still think she is.

She had motive, anger, frustration, and the cool demeanor to fake innocence.

But if this was tried in court today (as long as we ignore all the inconsistencies and fabrications the police department made), the jury would not be 100% male, the prosecution would not be able to say Lizzie was coming to the end of her menstrual cycle and was temporarily insane, and there would definitely be psych evals.

Now, about the book itself.

It was so incredibly dry.

There are so many minute details Cara Robertson goes into before the trial even starts. She walks us through every last moment leading up to the crime, the crime itself, and then the trial begins about 100 pages in. But the trial will hook you! It picks up and gets to the information most people don't know about the Lizzie Borden case. I was enthralled reading the transcripts and just seeing how far we've come as a society. The way the investigation was handled was completely absurd, the amount of bystanders that were supposedly trying to find the killer on their own, the differing stories told by officers in the same department, and how we treated women in a male driven society.

I highly recommend this to true followers of the Lizzie Borden case!

Huge thank you to Cara Robertson, NetGalley, and Simon and Schuster for providing me with an advanced copy of this book!

Mark your calendars, The Trial of Lizzie Borden hits shelves March 12, 2019!

I thought I knew a few things about the Lizzie Borden case from the 1890s...I was wrong. It was really fun to learn the truth about the Borden murders, and there was enough suspense created by Robertson that I was excited to keep reading the whole time. Although there were a few sections when the action got bogged down by some repetitive details, I found Robertson's non-fiction to be extremely well-researched and insightful (especially Robertson's take on Borden being arrested because of patriarchal forces). I'd love to see what real-life figure she takes on next.

The chilling story of Lizzie Borden has been told numerous times since the murder took place - what could have possessed this young woman to kill her parents? Robertson, however, took this trial and created a unique, less popular perspective that sheds light on the culture in which this murder took place. A lawyer herself, Roberston was able to see things through a governmental lens, and also see where society failed this young woman and chose to make a spectacle of the entire affair.

I enjoyed this book, though I have read more interesting accounts. It was hard for me to escape my knowledge of the murder and focus on what Robertson was trying to show me, though I do think her contrast provided me with a more well-rounded understanding of the case.

Unfortunately, I cannot open this format which is a big bummer since I would love to review this book. I'm not sure if there is any other way that I could open this up. The book sounds absolutely amazing and it's from one of my favorite publishers, Simon & Schuster.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Simon and Schuster for giving the opportunity to read and review this Ebook.
I did have a horrible time downloading this file. I usually receive all of my books from Netgalley on my Kindle App, but this book was in a different format. I was finally able to download it via Overdrive, but it would not work on my Kindle, or my iPad, and had to end up reading it on my cell phone.

I think we all have been intrigued by the Lizzy Borden murder, one being the time period that the murder occurred, and the fact that it was a woman. Of course, and sadly, I don’t think we would be too shocked if it happened Nowadays.
I found the book to be well researched, and very descriptive. It also gives great insight into the times, and life of Lizzy. I enjoyed reading all the history of the family, something that I had not read before.
Cara Roberts does a great job with laying out all the facts from court records, newspaper articles, and interviews. There were also many pictures I had not saw before.
Although, she does not give her personal opinion of guilt or innocence, she does give us all the information we need to decide for ourselves.

I personally think she did it, I always have. Did she act alone? That we will probably never know.

I would recommended this book to anyone who is interested in this case, and true crime.

Well done!

I like so many have always been fascinated and drawn to stories regarding Lizzie Borden. This book did not truly offer anything new and is slow reading. The final photo in the book of Lizzie with her dog was the only thing I have not seen previously ( and she bears a striking resemblance to The actress Kathy Bates, imo). There was repetitiveness as each trial date is said to draw crowds bigger than any seen before.
It is interesting to see how attitudes towards immigration/immigrants have not changed from what is currently in the news, only the group which is cast as undesirables has. We also see that the justice system and society’s tendency to judge by your station in life has parallels in the modern era.
There is nothing about Lizzie or Emmas’ personality, what Emma thought or a note on what happened to Bridget.
It is better suited for someone interested in the history or legal process than the lives or motives of the people touched by this tragedy.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, I hope my opinion helps others interested in this book,

I'm so sorry. I only read Kindle titles, and this book isn't available for download on Kindle. If there is a Kindle download in the future, I will read it!

Can’t open this one in the current format. Still looking forward to picking it up in stores though because it sounds fascinating and I love Simon & Schuster books typically.

This is a fascinating, well-researched, and intriguing account of The Trial of Lizzie Borden. I loved every bit of it and wished it had been available on Kindle/mobi so I could have read it more easily.

Highly recommended to fans of true crime, historical fiction, and psychological suspense.

Thanks to the publishers for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

First of all, I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson!

Robertson is a lawyer and after studying up on the Lizzie Borden case during her senior year at Harvard, this is her first book. I have always been fascinated by the Lizzie Borden case so I had to request this book immediately when I found it.

Even though I’ve read several books on Lizzie and am aware of the finer details of her life and the case, this book was such a great look into the trial - especially through the eyes of a lawyer. Personally, I would love more books such as this from Robertson. More true crime, specifically, unsolved cases.

Lizzie Borden allegedly murdered her father and stepmother with an axe in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1892. Whether or not she is at fault is still a question that remains unsolved. There were so many strange circumstances, however, so one can’t help but question did Lizzie get away with murder?

I love the way Robertson broke up the book into parts. Dividing up information on the murder, the trial, and then the verdict/aftermath. It was no surprise when reading about the trial, that this was written by a lawyer. Such a wonderful learning experience and it was written in a way that really put you in the scene.

I honestly feel like I could go on and on about this book considering my interest in the topic and with the book being such an enjoyable reading experience. Definitely would recommend this book to all interested in the case of Lizzie Borden!

I gave up on this one. It was long and complicated. I wanted a general biography, but this one went in to lots of details that bogged the story down. Some good editing would have helped increase the appeal of this book.

This was a fascinating account of the Borden murders and Lizzie Borden's trial. I learned a lot of information and it was easy and enjoyable to read. Definitely will recommend to true crime fans!

Lizzie Borden had an axe.
She gave her mother 40 whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
she gave her father 41.

Everyone knows the famous rhyme about about the infamous Lizzie Borden. But was she the killer of her stepmother and father or was it someone else?
This book explains all the facts of the murder, investigation, and trial. It lays out the whole case methodically and in depth. You can tell that Cara Robinson put a lot of effort into researching this case before putting it in paper, not a detail is missed.
Since it is just the facts without opinions or embellishments, the book tends to sometimes feels like a textbook. However, it is a good book to read because it examines all aspects of the case and leaves the readers to make up their own minds about Lizzie's guilt or innocence.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.

Well we know theres been tons of movies, books and everything else you can imagine on the Lizzie Borden case so if you're going to write on it you have to do it well and have your facts straight. Cara definitely did so. If your from a closet Lizzie was accused of killing her dad and step mom with an ax back in the 1890's.

Like many other American history buffs Lizzie Borden and her trial is slight interest of mine. Lizzie Borden is something of a glorified mythology figure. Did she do it? No one will ever know for sure. This book was well researched, well compiled and enjoyable to read. When writing a non fiction book the author has to take special care to ensure that the book stays light and enjoyable to read and Ms. Robertson did just that.