Cara RobertsonCritiques

Very thorough retelling of the courtroom documents but gets stuck in the weeds a lot. Definitely for those interested in the case more than the killings or surrounding drama.

Truly cannot understand how she got off, my god Victorian men were dense…

Well-written and well-researched, I might just call this the reference work on the trial of Lizzie Borden. In fact, it is so well done that I would also recommend it alone for its historical accuracy on our society of the gilded age of America. It makes one feel part of and understand that time when America was confident, forward looking and innocent of the shape of things to come. The trial is nicely ensconced within this background and at the end, after having heard all the evidence available and reasoning of prosecution and defense alike, one truly wants to read Lizzie’s mind to find out what truly happened that fateful day, and as an additional thought we may wonder if modern forensics could have solved the case.

I loved the real life pictures inside the book!

Guilty.

Robertson focuses on how the idea of a young gentlewoman committing a violent murder was recieved in 19th-c America, and how that influenced popular opinion and the outcome of the trial. If some of the trial narrative drags, imagine what it must've been like to actually have to sit in that courtroom. Robertson has done us all the favor of sorting through what must've been thousands of pages of trial transcripts and newspaper articles to distill an engaging narrative that contrasts the ideal of genteel womanhood with the reality of a "nice" woman who may well have (and I think did) murder her family.

The story was engrossing. I wish I had bought it in print or ebook though. The narration killed it for me. It drove me crazy and distracted me from the book. The story itself is worth reading. Just do yourself a favor and read it in print or ebook. Definitely try the sample first. I plan to get a print copy. I really like the book.

So maybe finishing up this book on Mother's Day was a little strange, but I'm not going to apologize. This is a fantastic factual look at the Lizzie Borden case. It starts with the crime and then moves step by step through the entire process through to the end of the trial and then a brief wrap up of the aftermath. It is about the trial and I suspect there are many who want more color and outside the courtroom scenes but I found it riveting and I appreciated the clear factual nature of the writing. Ms. Robertson uses the actual words of the participants to tell much of the story and the book gains credibility through that choice. What a truly fascinating case this was and is. It gets at a lot of important American themes about class, sexism, and the nature of our criminal system, and in the end I think that the evidence was not sufficient to merit a guilty verdict, but if you ask me who I think committed the crime then I will end up pointing at Lizzie Borden. As William Blackstone so elegantly and succinctly put it, "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer."

We all know the rhyme “Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother 40 wacks, when she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41”. We’ve all heard the story. Women of us have even seen the movie. Now we have a detailed account of the crime, the investigation and the trial.

This book was very well researched and written. At times it did become stagnant and boring but later ramped up the pace.

This definitely made me look at the case and crime with a whole new look. Definitely a must read for true crime buffs.

Very detailed account of evidence.
Horribly boring audiobook narrator.

Cara Robertson's The Trial of Lizzie Borden is a meticulous and scrupulously impartial look at the infamous axe murders and the subsequent trial of Lizzie Borden for the killing of her father and stepmother. This is not the book to go into if you want a trashy true crime read—Robertson eschews sensationalism in favour of setting out the facts so that the reader can decide, and showing how contemporary social mores about gender, class and race probably led to Borden's acquittal. Robertson does a great job in particular of showing how Gilded Age journalists were no more impartial than their modern descendants.

(There's no way now conclusively prove whodunnit beyond a reasonable doubt, but based on what facts there are and the balance of probability? Lizzie did it.)

"Lizzie Borden took an axe...gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done...gave her father 41" ~Playground chant


In August 1892, the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in their home in Fall River, MA created a media frenzy. Their daughter, Lizzie, was arrested for the crime and put on trial. The murder trial was an instant sensation. At the time, nobody could believe a woman would hack her father and stepmother to death with an axe.

After more than 120 years, many still wonder.....

Did she? Or didn't she?

Cara Robertson has spent 20 years researching the murders and the trial. The Trial of Lizzie Borden is her first book.

This book is so interesting! The Borden case is one of the most interesting and intriguing unsolved mysteries in American history, in my opinion. I don't believe the case was really solved by the investigation or outcome of the trial because at that time nobody could believe a woman was really capable of such a violent crime. Lizzie was found not guilty (as we all know) but faced public scrutiny until her death in 1927 because nobody was sure. The question hung in the air for the rest of her life....was she really guilty? Or innocent? And...if she was innocent....who killed the Bordens?

After reading this book, I can't really sway my opinion one way or the other. The evidence in the case is long gone. If such a murder occurred today, there would be DNA analysis, fingerprint evidence, and the investigation would not be impeded by the sex of the accused. A person is assumed innocent until PROVEN guilty. In my opinion, the trial did not prove her guilt so she was freed. Did she actually murder her parents? After 127 years any proof is just dust in the wind...there is no way to know.

Awesome book! Obviously well researched, and definitely well-written. Awesome debut book. I will be looking for more from this author! I will be running over the facts of this case in my head now for days I'm sure.....did she? Maybe she did. But maybe she didn't. That's the rough beauty of an unsolvable mystery....it can be pondered, but never really brought to a satisfying conclusion. Brain candy. Things for me to mull over in my head. Love it!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Simon & Schuster via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

A comprehensive coverage of the lead up to the murders, the police investigation, press coverage and the indictment, grand jury, trial and sequel. Puts to rest many rumors that seem to have made their way into popular lore--such as that the prosecution theorized that Lizzie commited the murders in the nude, explaining the lack of blood stained clothing. Not the case at all. Obviously methods of investigation, types of evidence and trial procedures differ from the present. Footnotes, bibliography, many photos and drawings.

What a boring book! I had never read anything about Borden before, so I was looking forward to this. May have had something to do with the horrible audiobook narrator. I kept wanting to go to sleep. I’ll have to find other resources on this case, because this was a bore.

Not sure how she did it, but the author made the life and times of Lizzie Borden and her strange family boring. I gave up reading the book about a third of the way through. The narrative reminded me of the narrative analytical sections of the LSAT. I expected 30 questions of five choices each at the end of each chapter.½

Just as the title promises, this is a courtroom story, soberly reported and vividly described. You'll get a much more vivid picture of the trial here than if you'd followed the newspapers of the day, all of which seem to have read like a hybrid between a Post-style tabloid and a mass-market magazine by today's standards. I came away quite impressed by the seriousness and competence with which this sensational trial was conducted. If you make allowances for the 19th century's prejudices regarding gender, ethnicity, and class—a tall order, I know—it's hard to think of how the trial might have been done better.

The author sets the scene and presents the trial with equal seriousness. There's gore, of course, but no sensationalism, no breathless reconstructed conversations or caricature portraits. The facts and the mysteries are all laid out without embellishment. You be the juror.½

The author of this account of the well known 1892 murders in Fall River, Massachusetts has obviously done extensive research on the case. Unfortunately it seems like every bit of research made it into the finished product. Numerous, repetitive direct quotes really bog down the flow of what should be a fascinating story. The book was marketed to the general public, but seems aimed to the true aficionado. It was interesting to ponder a time when references to classical literature were appropriate for jury arguments.

Everyone knows the story of Lizzie Borden and her subsequent acquittal for the murder of her father and step-mother. This book goes beyond the lore to focus on the evidence and trial against her. Well researched, the author utilized court records, newspaper accounts, and local accounts to paint a picture of what truly happened in the court room. Overall, a well written and fascinating book. Highly recommended.

I purchased this book from Amazon to read. All opinions are my own. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson. In August of 1892 one of America's most atrocious crimes happened in the Borden household in Fall River, Massachusetts. This book is a step by step retelling of the evidence of the murder, the interrogations, the trial, the verdict, and life after for Lizzie Borden. If you have formed your own opinions of what happened or have no clue about this story then this is the book that will allow you to form your own opinions of Lizzie. However, since I have been a huge fan of this story for a very, very long time I found a lot of what is in this book redundant information. I did however find an interesting fact of the tour of The Borden home now a Bed and Breakfast in Massachusetts and might need to plan a road trip to go see it! Review also posted on Instagram @borenbooks, Library Thing, Goodreads/StacieBoren, Amazon, Twitter @jason_stacie and my blog at readsbystacie.com

The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson concerns itself, as the title suggests, almost exclusively with the trial of Lizzie Borden. But the trial as a whole, not simply what took place in the courtroom.

Important to any trial is background and context. Robertson covers the history of the town, the Borden family, and of Lizzie herself. This is done along with the description of the murders and the investigation into the murders. There is also context throughout the book, beginning in this section, about such things as women's roles in society during the period as well as the class structure of the time. These are mentioned throughout whenever it might shed some light on an action or inaction.

The trial itself is covered thoroughly, down to descriptions of what was worn and various reactions of the participants and observers. This was presented without embellishment, which might be a disappointment for some drawn to the sensationalism of the crime but makes the account much clearer and free from opinion and conjecture that otherwise would get in the way of learning what happened.

Finally the verdict and aftermath, as well as a brief overview of pop culture references, where Robertson provides a nice wrap-up of the case and its implications. She does not go into a lot of detail here but then it isn't the focus of the book.

A couple things surprise me about some of the reviews, so I thought I would mention a couple things to warn potential readers. I actually saw someone complain about it being "fact focused." A warning, this is a nonfiction account focused on, as the title says, the trial of Lizzie Borden. This is not a fictional dramatization or a sensationalistic embellishment. So if the facts of the case presented in a straightforward manner isn't what you want, there are plenty of fluffier accounts of the murders. Also, a few mention that it seemed to be mostly about the trial. Well, okay, check the title again before deciding if you want to read it. It seems pretty clear to me that this will be about the trial, but maybe the title wasn't clear enough for some.

In short, I would highly recommend this to readers, both well-versed in the case as well as newbies, who primarily want to know the facts of the case. This, for those less familiar with the case, will provide a solid foundation for future ventures into the wide range of texts about Lizzie and the murders. It will better enable you to have an idea where conjecture departs from the course of evidence.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

**I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book through NetGalley for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Robertson’s well researched nonfiction tale describes in detail the murder of Andrew Borden and his wife Abby, and the trial of Andrew’s youngest daughter, Lizzie, for those murders. Using details from the courtroom transcripts and from various newspaper accounts of the trial, Robertson illustrates nineteenth century courtroom drama and the prejudices and suppositions that played a role in nineteenth century culture and mores. For example, the slight idea that a woman of Lizzie’s stature could have committed this crime was a ridiculous notion to many of the spectators and lawyers and journalists. Robertson also tells this tale without much bias in the narrative – it is up to the readers to judge for themselves whether or not Lizzie committed the murders, based on the facts brought to the trial.

Anyone who wants to learn about the Borden murders should read this. While most of the book does not present new information to the avid reader of this crime, the combination of all of these facts into one book with such a detailed description of the daily movements during the trial are extremely helpful. The extensive bibliography at the end of the book also presents further reading opportunities and areas to explore others’ thoughts about the murders and Lizzie’s guilt/innocence. This is not a narrative nonfiction piece – it’s very academic and clinical in writing style. The first chapter contained some repetitious statements, which made me stumble a bit.

The ending of the book discusses Lizzie in context of pop culture from the late 1890s to contemporary times. This I found fascinating and wish more of these pieces would have been discussed – perhaps a future book idea?

Most people are familiar with the murder that Lizzie Borden was accused of as there have been numerous books and movies based on it. In August of 1892, Lizzie’s father and stepmother were brutally murdered in their home. Lizzie was accused of the murder and the trial became a sensationalized spectacle. People then and now all have different opinions of what happened that day in Fall River, Massachusetts. Was Lizzie a guilty murderess or was she wrongly accused?

I have read many accounts of this murder and even saw a play based on it. Ms. Robertson’s book is one of the most extensively researched and unbiased accounts I’ve read. This most definitely does not read like a historical novel as well it shouldn’t, though never ceased to hold my interest. This is a fact-based accounting based on Ms. Robertson’s twenty years of research. The book itself ended at 65%, the rest being a list of notes detailing the source of almost every sentence in the book.

What I found the most impressive about the book was that the author includes much information about society at the time of the murder and the way people perceived women. The men on Lizzie’s jury just couldn’t imagine a lady such as Lizzie committing such an atrocious act. For a women to do what was done to these two victims, she would have had to have been a monster and that would have shown in her countenance. The book also touches on what was thought to be the cause of “hysteria” in women.
The book not only covers the trial in detail but also the discussions that were taking place outside of the courtroom and newspaper accountings, as well as rumors. Another plus is that the book is chock full of photos that help the details to life.

A must read for true life crime readers. Highly recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

For anyone new to the story of Lizzie Borden, this book pretty much tells it all. For those who already know about it, there are plenty of courtroom details and other information surrounding the murders that may be of interest.

I found some of the courtroom details fascinating--especially how women were treated and their views of what women were or were not capable of. The fact that Lizzie was a well-to-do, church-going woman almost cleared her of any possibility of being a murderer.

With all the information cited in the book, I felt sure I was going to solve the mystery. Did Lizzie commit the crime or did someone else? Maybe someday the mystery will be solved, but in the meantime readers can play armchair detective.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read an advance copy and offer an honest review.

Very informative about the Borden trial. Shows what living in the time period would be like. Has some comments from journalists. The remarks about her demeanor, and mood changes. The courtroom antics where fascinating a drama at it's most dramatic. Most of the book is of the trial, which is something I hadn't read much about before. If you're interested in learning about the Borden trial I recommend this book.
Thank you to the publishers for an early review copy