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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Was Lizzie A Lezzie?,
By Dean Glass (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lizzie (Paperback)
There are countless non-fiction accounts of the trial of Lizzie Borden and the events leading up to it. This is not one of them. This is a fictional account, written by a man better known by his pseudonym, Ed McBain. Lizzie Borden was a spinster Sunday school teacher who, in 1893, was tried for and acquitted of the hatchet murders of her father and stepmother. Hunter's book tells the story of Lizzie's 1890 Grand Tour of Europe, alternating with intercalorie chapters detailing Lizzie's inquest and trial. The last chapter tells the events of the murder day, at least as Hunter imagines they may have happened. Lizzie was a suspected Lesbian, and had a lengthy affair, post-trial, with popular stage actress of the day Nance O'Neil. Hunter's book tells of how Lizzie became enamored of a beautiful British woman while in Europe, and how her affair with the lady led to the events of August 4, 1892. Although this is not the book for someone researching the case, it is hightly entertaining, and does contain some useful information. The dialogue in the inquest and trial scenes are the actual courtroom testimony, although they are written like fiction, with "he said," and "she said". The Europe scenes, although completely fictional, are well-written and tell a good story, and the conclusion is at least plausible. I recommend this book to fans of crime novels and to Lizzie buffs who are anxious to get another "take" on the case.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating reconstruction of a famous murder suspect's life...,
By In his novel, Hunter takes known facts about Borden, such as her tour of Europe with friends several years earlier, trial notes, and newspaper article from the period, and weaves them with items of popular speculation, such as Borden's supposed lesbianism, to create a portrait of a sensitive woman driven to despair. Hunter begins in England, as Borden and her three friends have just arrived. By chance, the women share a train compartment with Albert and Alison Newbury, a wealthy native couple who quickly take them -- especially Lizzie -- under their wing. Although Albert is also gallant and kind, it is Alison who plies Lizzie with endless compliments and accomodates her every whim. When illness forces Lizzie to remain behind while her friends move on to Italy, it is Alison who becomes her faithful caregiver, nursing her back to health and furthering the bond between herself and the grateful Lizzie. However, it is soon apparent that Alison's motives are not entirely selfless, as her attraction to Lizzie is more than platonic. Although it goes against everything the moral Lizzie's ever been taught, she soon finds it impossible to ignore the passion within herself, and allows herself to find love with Alison. Lizzie's joy is short-lived, however, as she knows that she must return to America. She begins a correspondence with Alison, full of passionate words and promises to meet again within the next few months. But Alison's promises prove fruitless, and Lizzie begins to see the affair as it must have appeared through Alison's eyes...a mere passing fling. Full of misery, Lizzie begins to act out in other ways...one of which leads to her stepmother's discovery of her in an uncompromising position, and thus the Bordens' ultimate demise... It's hard to know what the real Lizzie Borden was like, or whether in fact she did commit the crime. But Hunter has done a wonderful job of portraying the woman, based on what's known and speculated. Upon reading this novel, it's hard not to feel like you actually know Lizzie Borden...and not to feel compassion for this woman's heartache-ridden life, no matter what she actually did.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mix of Fantasy and History,
"Lizzie," by Evan Hunter, is a very interesting read, mixing a creative novelist's eye with true words from the court proceedings against the notorious Lizzie Borden. The main point of the novelist's story is what happened when Lizzie Borden traveled to Europe in 1890, two years before the sensational murder in Fall River, Massachusetts. Mr. Hunter then becomes a detective and applies his richly hued European fantasy to the later murders themselves, intertwining the European fantasy with transcripts from the legal proceedings against poor put-upon Lizzie. Mr. Hunter then ends his story by taking us through a step by step view of what "happened" in the Borden house on the day of the murders. Frankly, for those interested in the Lizzie Borden story (and there are many who are), his explanation for what happened is about as logical as any other. Highly recommended.
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