Does anyone know what -- if -- Lizzie liked to read?
I don't recall any bookshelves on the diagrams of the house, but I understand Maplecroft had a library. So I'm wondering if anyone knows what she enjoyed reading.
Somehow I can't see Andrew as a reader, though maybe poor Abby was.
(Yes, I am voracious for details of life in the Borden household. Any clues are welcome.)
Lynn
Lizzie's Books
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Wordweaver
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Harry
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Hi Wordweaver, welcome.
Lizzie was reportedly a voracious reader. Our own William wrote the cover article for the former Lizzie Borden Quarterly (July 1998) We Are What We Read: Ex Libris Lizzie Borden.
Her home at Maplecroft had a library room. I believe Dickens was one, if not her favorite, author. I read somewhere that she purchased books by the set.
As William said in his article, few of her books survive. The B&B claims to have a handfull and the Fall River Historical Society may have one. At the time of her death she left first choice of her books to Helen Leighton.
Periodically books allegedly owned and signed by Lizzie appear for auction on EBay. Some of these are obvious forgeries probably even unknown to the seller.
William in his LBQ article has this to say:
"She was mute about what she read as she was about other aspects of her very private life. The only words we have from her own lips are those from the inquest testimony. Her diary may have provided a clue to her literary tastes, but if such a document ever existed it is now lost to the ages."
Williams well written article lists a wide choice of well known authors and possible titles available to Lizzie.
Lizzie was reportedly a voracious reader. Our own William wrote the cover article for the former Lizzie Borden Quarterly (July 1998) We Are What We Read: Ex Libris Lizzie Borden.
Her home at Maplecroft had a library room. I believe Dickens was one, if not her favorite, author. I read somewhere that she purchased books by the set.
As William said in his article, few of her books survive. The B&B claims to have a handfull and the Fall River Historical Society may have one. At the time of her death she left first choice of her books to Helen Leighton.
Periodically books allegedly owned and signed by Lizzie appear for auction on EBay. Some of these are obvious forgeries probably even unknown to the seller.
William in his LBQ article has this to say:
"She was mute about what she read as she was about other aspects of her very private life. The only words we have from her own lips are those from the inquest testimony. Her diary may have provided a clue to her literary tastes, but if such a document ever existed it is now lost to the ages."
Williams well written article lists a wide choice of well known authors and possible titles available to Lizzie.
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Kat
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It was asked somewhere here on the Forum if there was any information about Lizzie growing up. I was looking for Emma's "Guilty? No!No!" speech when I found some of my transcribed material on Little Lizzie.
I've looked and looked as to where to put it: Who asked?
I will put it here.
These are excerpts:
The Lizzie Borden Sourcebook, David Kent, pgs. 14 & 15:
"THE BOSTON HERALD
LIZZIE BORDEN
Her School and Later Life - A Noble Woman, Though Retiring
Fall River, Aug. 6.
......
As a child she was of a very sensitive nature, inclined to be non-communicative with new acquaintances, and this characteristic has tenaciously clung to her all through life, and has been erroneously interpreted.
Her sister, being older, was a constant guide and an idolized companion.
An unusual circumstance is that of her practically having no choice of friends until she attained womanhood.
At the usual age she was sent to the Morgan street school, embracing primary and grammer grades.
Her school days were perhaps unlike most girls in this lack of affiliation with her fellow pupils.
As a scholar she was not remarkable for brilliancy, but she was conscientious in her studies and with application always held a good rank in her class.
She entered the high school when about 15 or 16 years old. It was then held in a wooden building on the corner of June and Locust sts., which was removed when the present mammoth structure was presented to the city.
Her life was uneventful during the few years following her leaving school. She abandoned her piano music lessons because, although making encouraging progress, she conceived the idea that she was not destined to become a good musician.
If she could not excel in this accomplishment she did not wish to persue the study, and so her friends heard her play thereafter but little.
Her father and mother were religious and regular church attendants, and she has been surrounded by
CHRISTIAN HOME INFLUENCES.
When a young girl, she accompanied her parents to Chicago, and was there a member of the Sunday school class and punctual in attendance.
She was, however, a girl with anything but an enthusiastic idea of her own personal attainments.
She thought people were not favorably disposed toward her and that she made a poor impression.
This conduced to the acceptance of this very opinion among church people, and consequently the young woman was to some extent avoided by the young women of the church.
There was a remarkable change in her some five years ago and at that time she first began to fraternize with church people.
Then, of course, when she was thoroughly understood, when the obnoxiously retiring manner was dissipated and the responsive nature of the girl came to view, she became at once popular and then came the acquisition of the friends who today sound her praises."
________________________
--From THE LIZZIE BORDEN SOURCEBOOK, David Kent, Branden Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, Mass., 1992, pg.171.
--This undated article is posted to the book after a dated article of August 30. The year is probably 1892, as the previous reference is to the "Hearing".
THE WOONSOCKET CALL--(no date)
"SAYS SHE IS INNOCENT.
A Former Teacher of Lizzie Borden Speaks About Her Case
....
Mr. Horace Benson, a former Woonsocket boy, and at one time a successful teacher here, who has for some 12 years or more been making his mark in one of the best schools in Fall River, was in this city Saturday and visited his old friends, one of whom was a former teacher, Mr. L. L. Chilson (?). In speaking of the Borden case to a friend, Mr. Benson said that he knew the family very well and that Lizzie was one of his former pupils. He said that as a pupil she was an average scholar, neither being exceptionally smart nor noticeably dull. She was subject to varying moods, and was never fond of her stepmother. She had no hesitation in talking about her, and in many ways showed her dislike of her father's second wife."
......
I've looked and looked as to where to put it: Who asked?
I will put it here.
These are excerpts:
The Lizzie Borden Sourcebook, David Kent, pgs. 14 & 15:
"THE BOSTON HERALD
LIZZIE BORDEN
Her School and Later Life - A Noble Woman, Though Retiring
Fall River, Aug. 6.
......
As a child she was of a very sensitive nature, inclined to be non-communicative with new acquaintances, and this characteristic has tenaciously clung to her all through life, and has been erroneously interpreted.
Her sister, being older, was a constant guide and an idolized companion.
An unusual circumstance is that of her practically having no choice of friends until she attained womanhood.
At the usual age she was sent to the Morgan street school, embracing primary and grammer grades.
Her school days were perhaps unlike most girls in this lack of affiliation with her fellow pupils.
As a scholar she was not remarkable for brilliancy, but she was conscientious in her studies and with application always held a good rank in her class.
She entered the high school when about 15 or 16 years old. It was then held in a wooden building on the corner of June and Locust sts., which was removed when the present mammoth structure was presented to the city.
Her life was uneventful during the few years following her leaving school. She abandoned her piano music lessons because, although making encouraging progress, she conceived the idea that she was not destined to become a good musician.
If she could not excel in this accomplishment she did not wish to persue the study, and so her friends heard her play thereafter but little.
Her father and mother were religious and regular church attendants, and she has been surrounded by
CHRISTIAN HOME INFLUENCES.
When a young girl, she accompanied her parents to Chicago, and was there a member of the Sunday school class and punctual in attendance.
She was, however, a girl with anything but an enthusiastic idea of her own personal attainments.
She thought people were not favorably disposed toward her and that she made a poor impression.
This conduced to the acceptance of this very opinion among church people, and consequently the young woman was to some extent avoided by the young women of the church.
There was a remarkable change in her some five years ago and at that time she first began to fraternize with church people.
Then, of course, when she was thoroughly understood, when the obnoxiously retiring manner was dissipated and the responsive nature of the girl came to view, she became at once popular and then came the acquisition of the friends who today sound her praises."
________________________
--From THE LIZZIE BORDEN SOURCEBOOK, David Kent, Branden Publishing Co., Inc., Boston, Mass., 1992, pg.171.
--This undated article is posted to the book after a dated article of August 30. The year is probably 1892, as the previous reference is to the "Hearing".
THE WOONSOCKET CALL--(no date)
"SAYS SHE IS INNOCENT.
A Former Teacher of Lizzie Borden Speaks About Her Case
....
Mr. Horace Benson, a former Woonsocket boy, and at one time a successful teacher here, who has for some 12 years or more been making his mark in one of the best schools in Fall River, was in this city Saturday and visited his old friends, one of whom was a former teacher, Mr. L. L. Chilson (?). In speaking of the Borden case to a friend, Mr. Benson said that he knew the family very well and that Lizzie was one of his former pupils. He said that as a pupil she was an average scholar, neither being exceptionally smart nor noticeably dull. She was subject to varying moods, and was never fond of her stepmother. She had no hesitation in talking about her, and in many ways showed her dislike of her father's second wife."
......
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Harry
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One of Lizzie's books
According to Dorothy Dunbar, who wrote a chapter on Lizzie Borden, (which was reprinted in The Mammoth Book of Killer Women, "Far from the Old Folks at Home") one of the books Lizzie read was "Alice of Old Vincennes" by Maurice Thompson, 1900. There is an on-line free version of this fiction book transcribed by the Gutenburg Project at: http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext03/aovnn10.txt
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william
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Kat,
In addition to the book you mentioned, the B&B had six other books that were in Lizzie's library. They were authenticated by Robert A. Flynn:
Through the Postern Gate
Lawns and How to Grow Them
The Sowers
Told in the Hills
The Rosary
The House of a Thousand Candles
These books were donated to the B&B in 1998 by Leslye Featherline.
Mrs. Featherline's great aunt was the second wife of Ernest Terry, chauffeur to Lizzie Borden.
I recently attempted to discover the disposition of these books but could not get any information.
In addition to the book you mentioned, the B&B had six other books that were in Lizzie's library. They were authenticated by Robert A. Flynn:
Through the Postern Gate
Lawns and How to Grow Them
The Sowers
Told in the Hills
The Rosary
The House of a Thousand Candles
These books were donated to the B&B in 1998 by Leslye Featherline.
Mrs. Featherline's great aunt was the second wife of Ernest Terry, chauffeur to Lizzie Borden.
I recently attempted to discover the disposition of these books but could not get any information.
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diana
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Thank you for that valuable information, William.
There were about half a dozen books in the cupboard beside Lizzie's bed when I went through the B&B last May. I never thought to look at them closely as I assumed they were props -- did anyone else make note of the titles? Were those the books, by any chance?
The ones in the sitting room were more current and related to the case itself.
If The Sowers is Henry Seton Merriman's 1895 publication -- you can read it on-line at this link and get a feel for the prose.
http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/ ... iles=40928
There were about half a dozen books in the cupboard beside Lizzie's bed when I went through the B&B last May. I never thought to look at them closely as I assumed they were props -- did anyone else make note of the titles? Were those the books, by any chance?
The ones in the sitting room were more current and related to the case itself.
If The Sowers is Henry Seton Merriman's 1895 publication -- you can read it on-line at this link and get a feel for the prose.
http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/ ... iles=40928
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Pippi
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Hi I'm new...
With Lizzie/Lizbeth's love of books, nature, etc. I always wondered if she read any of L.M. Montgomery's books. 
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Susan
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Oh, I've loved the Anne of Green Gables books since I was a girl and thoroughly enjoyed the TV series! I found a site that has some of Lucy Maud Montgomery's books online, though there are some pop-ups! 
http://www.online-literature.com/lucy_montgomery/
http://www.online-literature.com/lucy_montgomery/
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Wordweaver
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I asked -- and thank you! This is exactly the kind of thing I need to see.Kat @ Sat Oct 16, 2004 6:29 am wrote:It was asked somewhere here on the Forum if there was any information about Lizzie growing up. I was looking for Emma's "Guilty? No!No!" speech when I found some of my transcribed material on Little Lizzie.
I've looked and looked as to where to put it: Who asked?
I deeply admire the commitment to timetables and trial testimony here -- and I'm putting together my own minute-by-minute timeline, as near as I can (I'll upload it when I'm finished). But what I crave is the sense of Lizzie's voice that's missing from the transcripts.
Lynn
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Pippi
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Hi Kat :) Yes, that's the L.M. Montgomery I'm referring to..I'm very much interested in Lizzie as a person and from what little I know, her love of Dickens, wishing to have a life, and I'm only speculating here but she seems an imaginative day dreaming type and thought maybe she'd be into Montgomery's Anne book and similar type fair...falling into the innocence of childhood books... ???
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Nancie
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I was catching up on this thread, I think it was Harry who said "You are what you read"... ha ha what a scary thought, I better weed out my bookcase. Although my favorite Walden is there (which I think Lizzie read), what would someone think of all the true-crime, Stephen King, diet and
horoscope, garden and Sci-Fi = WHACKO! But I think if you are a reader, you will read anything...
I think Lizzie appreciated all kinds of books because she loved to read.
horoscope, garden and Sci-Fi = WHACKO! But I think if you are a reader, you will read anything...
I think Lizzie appreciated all kinds of books because she loved to read.
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Kat
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From Spiering, which letter is in the archive at the FRHS:
"My dear Friend
Where are you how are you and what are you doing? I dreamed of you the other night but I do not dare to put my dreams on paper. Have you been away and has your little niece been to visit you? We have been home all summer. I spend much time on the piazza in my steamer chair reading and building castles in the air. I hope you have been away and are well and strong now. Do you expect to do much this fall and are you going to N.Y.? Every time we pass your corner the pony wants to turn down. The weather has been so warm and full of thunder storms I am quite ready for fall.
I should be very glad to hear from you.
Sincerely
L. A. Borden
August twenty second
1897"
--Apparently this letter was written to her friend the dressmaker. Lizbeth talks about reading on her porch.
Note the year. 1897 was the year of the Tilden-Thurber debacle.
"My dear Friend
Where are you how are you and what are you doing? I dreamed of you the other night but I do not dare to put my dreams on paper. Have you been away and has your little niece been to visit you? We have been home all summer. I spend much time on the piazza in my steamer chair reading and building castles in the air. I hope you have been away and are well and strong now. Do you expect to do much this fall and are you going to N.Y.? Every time we pass your corner the pony wants to turn down. The weather has been so warm and full of thunder storms I am quite ready for fall.
I should be very glad to hear from you.
Sincerely
L. A. Borden
August twenty second
1897"
--Apparently this letter was written to her friend the dressmaker. Lizbeth talks about reading on her porch.
Note the year. 1897 was the year of the Tilden-Thurber debacle.
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lydiapinkham
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One other source of reading material for Lizzie would be Harper's, which serialized fiction in each issue. We know she had a copy the day of the murders, so it's a safe bet she read any of the fiction or poetry carried by the magazine. Dickens was repeatedly mentioned by reporters as her solace in Taunton Jail.
--Lyddie
--Lyddie
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augusta
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I have "House of a Thousand Candles". I got it from Half.com. It's a first edition, in good shape, and I paid like three bucks for it. Perhaps other books Lizzie has read can be purchased similarly.
Try that Gutenburg (sp?) website for any of the others. There was one on there I started to read - one Lizzie had. It was incredible. It was like they were writing about her. A rich lady, living alone, having a secret or something.
She was partial to romances and popular novels of the day. Dickens was her favorite. The last play she saw in Boston, I believe, was Dickens (Pickwick Papers I'm thinking). ... Yes, here it is in Rebello, page 321: "Pickwick was the last play she saw in Boston before her death, and she did enjoy it, being very fond of Dickens."
Some time I want to read all the books that it is known she read. William's article is invaluable. Thanks for listing the books again, Bill. I think one could learn something of Lizzie's character by reading those books.
Try that Gutenburg (sp?) website for any of the others. There was one on there I started to read - one Lizzie had. It was incredible. It was like they were writing about her. A rich lady, living alone, having a secret or something.
She was partial to romances and popular novels of the day. Dickens was her favorite. The last play she saw in Boston, I believe, was Dickens (Pickwick Papers I'm thinking). ... Yes, here it is in Rebello, page 321: "Pickwick was the last play she saw in Boston before her death, and she did enjoy it, being very fond of Dickens."
Some time I want to read all the books that it is known she read. William's article is invaluable. Thanks for listing the books again, Bill.
I think one could learn something of Lizzie's character by reading those books.-
stuartwsa
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Has anyone here been lucky enough to see the library in Maplecroft, or has anyone seen photos of it? I'm curious to know how many shelves are there, and how many books it might've held. Since so few of Lizzie's (authenticated) books have surfaced, they must be somewhere! Perhaps they are in the hands of relatives, or did Helen Leighton end up with them?
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Allen
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A word from Nance.
This first appeared in the New Bedford Standard. I thought it showed a glimpse of Lizzie that was, to most , pretty much unknown. It was from an interview done with Nance O'Neil after Lizzie's death. I found it in The Lizzie Borden Source Book on page 345.
Actress Loath To Speak
"Miss Borden shrank so from publicity in her life, she said, that she could
not feel free to speak in more than a general way of her after her death,
despite the fact that her only recollections are favorable ones.
It was an unconcious tribute to the compelling power of Lizzie Borden's
personality that after all these years a woman of the impressive caliber of
Miss O'Neil should say " I don't believe Miss Borden would like it."
But Miss O'Neil did not hesitate to say warmly that Miss Borden was not
the sort of person one could believe guilty of such a crime as that with
which she was charged. It was not the unemotional, grim, stocky and
stalwart Lizzie Borden of popular conception that Miss O'Neil knew and
remembered, but a quiet , reserved , frail little old - fashioned gentlewoman.
Distinctly Attracitve
Miss O'Neil, being unusually tall herself, is perhaps inclined to see
persons smaller than others do. She found the reserved little
gentlewoman,with her gray eyes and graying hair and her unmistakable
air of refinement and intellect, distinctly attractive. She was exceedingly
well read, conversant with the best literature, and spoke interestingly of
her travels abroad, which Miss O'Neil called extensive. With her
intellectual qualities she combined kindness and thought for others and
great fondness for animals. She was a member, Miss O'Neil recalled ,of
the Boston Animal Rescue league.
The outstanding recollection, the actress mentioned, however, was that
Miss Borden seemed utterly lonely.She was obviously depressed by the
shadow of some tragedy, the nature of which Miss O'Neil did not know
until some time after their brief friendship began. A note from Miss
Borden expressing admiration for the brilliant acting of the star and
asking permission to call on her, was the beginning of their aquaintance. With which came a bouquet of flowers."
Actress Loath To Speak
"Miss Borden shrank so from publicity in her life, she said, that she could
not feel free to speak in more than a general way of her after her death,
despite the fact that her only recollections are favorable ones.
It was an unconcious tribute to the compelling power of Lizzie Borden's
personality that after all these years a woman of the impressive caliber of
Miss O'Neil should say " I don't believe Miss Borden would like it."
But Miss O'Neil did not hesitate to say warmly that Miss Borden was not
the sort of person one could believe guilty of such a crime as that with
which she was charged. It was not the unemotional, grim, stocky and
stalwart Lizzie Borden of popular conception that Miss O'Neil knew and
remembered, but a quiet , reserved , frail little old - fashioned gentlewoman.
Distinctly Attracitve
Miss O'Neil, being unusually tall herself, is perhaps inclined to see
persons smaller than others do. She found the reserved little
gentlewoman,with her gray eyes and graying hair and her unmistakable
air of refinement and intellect, distinctly attractive. She was exceedingly
well read, conversant with the best literature, and spoke interestingly of
her travels abroad, which Miss O'Neil called extensive. With her
intellectual qualities she combined kindness and thought for others and
great fondness for animals. She was a member, Miss O'Neil recalled ,of
the Boston Animal Rescue league.
The outstanding recollection, the actress mentioned, however, was that
Miss Borden seemed utterly lonely.She was obviously depressed by the
shadow of some tragedy, the nature of which Miss O'Neil did not know
until some time after their brief friendship began. A note from Miss
Borden expressing admiration for the brilliant acting of the star and
asking permission to call on her, was the beginning of their aquaintance. With which came a bouquet of flowers."
"He who cannot put his thoughts on ice should not enter into the head of dispute." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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Kat
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Thanks for the transcription!
That was well done.
Lizbeth was around 45 when she met Nance in 1905, is my math correct? Did Lizbeth get gray-hair that early in life? I suppose she was graying but Nance speaks of her as if she were 65! I've seen this interview in a new light! 45! Melodramatic or literary license?
That was well done.
Lizbeth was around 45 when she met Nance in 1905, is my math correct? Did Lizbeth get gray-hair that early in life? I suppose she was graying but Nance speaks of her as if she were 65! I've seen this interview in a new light! 45! Melodramatic or literary license?