Review: The Trial of Lizzie Borden
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3 stars. What's fascinating about Lizzie Borden is that there's so much more to the nursery rhyme, but so few answers in the end. The grisly murders captured America's attention, and resulted in one of the fairest, most admirable trials in the history of the justice system. But the crime still, to this day, represents a strange, "locked room" mystery. Those of us starved for the truth will find the details presented here of great interest.
And there are many, many details. This reads like a textbook, and was therefore almost a DNF (I kept falling asleep on the train!); but truthfully I am quite interested in the courtroom drama of it all, and was satisfied by a rewarding finish. I had no idea that Lizzie's story had such a sparkling supportive cast - from the bumbling policemen, charismatic lawyers, thirsty spectators, admirable judges to, of course, the amusing crucial witnesses.
I was not previously aware (naively) of how deeply the sexism of the time permeated the proceedings - Lizzie essentially became, as many defendants do, a tennis ball being racketed back and forth by men trying to outsmart each other. Beyond that, however, I learned that her gender was used by BOTH SIDES to prove her innocence and/or guilt. She's a woman: they're dangerous, wily creatures who have committed the worst crimes in history (!!!) - GUILTY. She's a woman: they're weak, dumb, and don't have the strength to wield an ax (!!!) - NOT GUILTY. I found this to be hilarious and tragic and classic.
But justice prevailed - or did it? I found this book to completely prove that Lizzie is innocent from a legal perspective. Yup, that evidence was circumstantial AF. Yup, the police really screwed some stuff up there. Yup, the prosecution's arguments were underwhelming and desperate. But the justice system is imperfect because it's a human system, and I guess we'll never know what really happened that day in the Borden household.
I couldn't help but compare this to See What I Have Done, which I read fairly recently. I really appreciated Sarah Schmidt's attempt to draw a new picture of the Borden murders, but found it a little tryhard. Still, her sticky, dramatic portrayal of a guilty Lizzie starkly contrasts with the portrayal of an innocent Lizzie in The Trial. The Trial is extensively researched and draws from transcripts, newspaper articles, and more. The illustrations are useful and you really get a feel for what that hot courtroom felt like during the spectacle.
My favorite part was the end - a pithy, beautifully-written coda to an exhausting narrative. I loved reading about the various theories out there, and about the locked up, hidden away defense files. I loved reading about the rest of Lizzie's life, and about her love for Boston Terriers, and her refusal to leave Fall River. Ultimately, I'm into this. I'll always be into Lizzie.