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The Lizzie Borden "Axe Murder" Trial (Headline Court Cases)

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The Lizzie Borden "Axe Murder" Trial - A Headline Court Case, by Joan Axelrod-Contrada, a 106 page book, is a short, one session read. Have a snack nearby because you won't get much of a bite out of this one.

This is one of a series of famous court cases designed for the (I assume) Junior High or High School student studying famous cases. It's just enough to provide a fairly good overview of the basics of the case, sufficient enough to write a school report - simple essays, but certainly no term paper. Joan A-C manages to convey all the primary and essential aspects of the case presented in a crisp, concise order. In almost bullet-like paragraphs it covers the Inquest, Preliminary, Grand Jury, and Trial. Those four proceedings probably account for this particular case being a good one for a class study. It ends with very brief comparisons of the OJ Simpson case and Louise Woodard cases (yawn). However, handled well, I thought, given the consistent brevity throughout, was the information on the investigation into insanity and the question of what dress did Lizzie have on between 9:00 and 11:00 that morning.

The end notes indicate more research than probably was necessary considering the resultant shallow substance. The author extracted information from many websites on the subject, and for the first time in a new book on Lizzie, the Chapter Notes/Biblography citations have a generous sprinkling of the ".org" and ".html" references. "Bordenia" websurfers will recognize many of them and may even be surprised, as I was, for a couple of new and very interesting sites.

The book has a handsome cover but, alas, the many photographs are all those that we've seen dozens of times in dozens of books. The picture of Lizzie taken in 1905,when she was 44-45 and with pinch-nez glasses, is probably the least reproduced of the lot.

I'm always appreciative of anything new published on the case, even if the content is a regurgitation in synopsized format. For me, the striking disappointment is that it is so obviously "series-formulated" that it lacks any incentive or motivation to compel the uninformed reader to seek out other works on this extremely compelling and facinating case. While I give credit and due respect to Joan Axelrod-Contrada for achieving what was obviously the publishers intent with this series, as a book of substance, it ran the gamut from "A to C". (Forgive me Dorothy Parker).

This 128-page book seems aimed at young teenagers, but doesn't explain why they should read about this case. It gives a good overview of the case, comparable to Rick Geary's illustrated book, and is a simple introduction to this case.

The author lists many sources in the "Chapter Notes", some of which may not be readily available. Some of the sources are Internet sites. There is no rating on the quality of the books on this case. "Further Reading" does not list Arnold R. Brown's book, or David Kent's "Forty Whacks".

There is a problem in the quality of the books, as shown on page 98. Everyone before spoke of the sweltering hear of those August 1892 days. But one writer claims that this was a "myth" because of one newspaper report! No corroboration is given for this claim. Can you believe everything you read in the newspapers, then or now? Eyewitness testimony is more reliable than hearsay.

The books on the case fall into two categories: she did it (Pearson, Sullivan, etc.), or she didn't (Radin, Spiering, Brown, etc.). The jury said "not guilty" and no one can ever prove otherwise. Arnold R. Brown's book explains it all.

Lizzie Borden is a great story and I recommend it to every reader. The non-fiction story is great and informational, the story takes place right in our back yard. The book is easy and to read and if you like true stories that are interesting then this is the book for you. For me, the story was really hard to put down so I was always reading it at night in bed. Since this is such a short story you would look forward to reading it I know I did. I really enjoyed reading this story because it's not one of these books that everyone reads and is really boring and the ending was really un- expected. The main problem I had was picking a book but when I saw this certain book I knew this was the book for me. The cover the introduction on the back just the whole book brought me in. I really recommend this book for every one I and I really enjoyed reading this book.

The Lizzie Borden "Axe Murder" Trial, by Joan Axelrod-Contrada

Much has been written about Lizzie so different sources can be contradictory. Joan Axelrod-Contrada used a variety of sources to present this good condensed history of the murders and trial (p.6). If you know something about this case you will note errors of omission, justified by the 98 pages of this book. There is a `Chronology', `Chapter Notes', `Glossary', `Further Reading', and `Index'. This book does not recommend David Kent's "Forty Whacks" as the one best book on this case, or mention that Arnold Brown's "Lizzie Borden ... the Final Chapter" provided the best solution to the mystery (once you read the other books).

Chapter 1 tells about the crime. Chapter 2 provides background information about the 1890s (but not that this was the worst depression of the 19th century). Chapter 3 says there was no solid proof that Lizzie was the murderer (p.30). Some said Lizzie was innocent, others guilty (p.32). [None had proof of guilt.] Chapter 4 presents the Case Against Lizzie Borden. Lizzie's inquest testimony was excluded because of the Fifth Amendment (not called the Miranda decision). Were the judges biased (p.60)? Chapter 5 has Lizzie's defense. Defense Attorney George Robinson discredited the witnesses for the prosecution (p.65). Defense witnesses confirmed Lizzie's story (p.72). Lizzie did not have exclusive opportunity (p.78). Judge Dewey spoke to the jury (Chapter 6), it was favorable to Lizzie (p.80). The jury quickly voted `not guilty' (p.81). Later public opinion turned against Lizzie (p.84). [In past years the local newspaper commemorated the August 4 murders by mentioning that Lizzie was found guiltless.] Prosecutor Knowlton became Attorney-General, defense attorney Andrew Jennings became District Attorney. [No comment needed?] The author skimps on the details of Emma's last years (p.92).

Why is there a continuous fascination with this case (Chapter 7)? It seems to appeal to people with a literary bent (Edmund Pearson) and to people in general (true crime, unsolved mysteries on TV). There has never been a Hollywood movie on this case. Lizzie couldn't have done it, but there were no other known suspects. Today they would consider an Unknown Subject, a hidden murderer. Murder of parents by children is extremely rare, unlike the reverse. The social class of the family made violent murder rare. Newspaper reporter Edward Radin read the trial transcript, visited Fall River to talk to people alive then, and found Lizzie innocent (p.95). Mock trials continue to find Lizzie innocent on the basis of the testimony in the trial transcript (p.103). Fall River was an important textile manufacturing city from the Civil War until 1927 when the factories failed due to the Great Depression.

The `Chapter Notes' reference the many books written since Lizzie died in 1927. "The Trial of Lizzie Borden" by Edmond Pearson said guilty. "Lizzie Borden: The Untold Story" by newspaper reporter Edward Radin suggested Bridget could have been guilty (servants murdering masters). "Goodbye Lizzie Borden" by Judge Robert Sullivan said guilty. "Lizzie" by Frank Spiering suggested Emma did it! "Forty Whacks" by Robert Kent provided an unbiased history without any judgement. "Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter" by Arnold Brown provided the best solution to the crime (a relative who was kept secret). In the 1950s Agnes DeMille wrote a book about her visit to Fall River. She quoted two daughters of a physician from that time: "there was a secret that was never revealed".