Lizzie Borden Society Forum

What are some of the best books to read about the case, as far as research and accuracy goes? There's literally hundreds on the market! I'm looking for substance and scholarship - "just the facts, m'am," - by respectable authors. How's a gal to pick?

Many thanks!

If it's substance you're looking for, the best recommendation I might make would have to be the trial record itself. There are also several other options, most of which are listed at http://lizzieandrewborden.com/Resources ... uments.htm
and
http://lizzieandrewborden.com/Resources ... dBooks.htm

i agree with doug. it's the trial records you want first and foremost. the Trial, the Preliminary, the Inquest.

the authors -- porter, pearson, radin, lincoln -- though they are valuable particularly when studied in conjunction with actual case records.

there are other authors i'm not as familiar with.

then there is brown.

Oh yes please...read the source documents.
The Witness Statements and the Inquest first, then the Trial.
We are so lucky to have them.
Then you can write your own book!

When somebody mentions Brown, does anybody else beside me miss rays/Raymond, even just a little bit?

i must confess -- yeah, i do...........i think.

i think you might have hit on the "Perserve Nostalgia" we're capable of.

Daylight come, and me wanna go home.

I was just thinking about Patricia Cornwell, which made me think about
Ray, and I'm sure you'll understand if I say I do not miss him one little tiny bit.

No.

Pesonally I miss Patricia Cornwell...

Has anyone tried to read "Trace"?

Did she go to writing school and learn a new and annoying form???

Blowfish was hard for me to read as well. Benson alive indeed-- her stories have begun to take on soap opera qualities.


PS-- Bob-- I was singing Day-O on Tuesday

I'd have to pick Leonard Rebello's "Lizzie Borden Past & Present" It's a tad pricey, but you'll find tons of information packed into it. Or the Sourcbook which has reprints of newspaper articles at the time of the trial. Just bewarned the Sourcebook's print is a tad small. I found I was only able to read a couple of pages a day, since it gave me headaches. Or you can just look around this site which has tons of great information.

Julie

That Rebello book is worth 10 times it's price for the simple fact that everything is collected in one place!

It is a wonderful resource.

Oh yes, REBELLO is MORE than worth the price...no doubt. Some people I know (ahemmm...) have been willing to pay more than that for other books on this case...LOL. If you have had a chance to go to Fall River and other 'places' involved with this case, it makes the books even more 'real' I think. I also think it's what the book is worth to the buyer that makes it a good deal, or a not so good deal (as I was advised by some of our 'local' experts). The more books you have...the better off and better informed you are I say !


Tracy...

I would strongly recommend a newcomer to the case start with the primary documents first - the witness statements, the Inquest, the Preliminary and the Trial.

Then the books and some of the newspapers. Kent, Radin and Sullivan are good. Some of the old LBQ's and all of the Hatchet magazines.

The bible however is Rebello, a must-have for serious Bordenphiles. You will find yourself turning to it on a regular basis.

There are only about 128 copies left or something like that.

Notice the cover art.
It is a sketch by W. H. Loomis for The Providence Daily Journal, 1893.

Here are some little-noticed sketches from the back cover of Lizzie Borden Past & Present.
Len had to bring these to my attention!

pleaseclickonpic

Back to the polling on whether we miss a past member--I must confess it is quite wonderful to sign in here and see no serious mention of A.R. Brown. I was constantly amazed by ray's ability to lug Brown in by the ears for any topic, relevant or not. And to post 10 one line messages in a row. And--no, I will behave now and say no more on the subject.

--Lyddie

theebmonique @ Fri Nov 05, 2004 9:19 pm wrote:Oh yes, REBELLO is MORE than worth the price...no doubt. Some people I know (ahemmm...) have been willing to pay more than that for other books on this case...LOL. If you have had a chance to go to Fall River and other 'places' involved with this case, it makes the books even more 'real' I think. I also think it's what the book is worth to the buyer that makes it a good deal, or a not so good deal (as I was advised by some of our 'local' experts). The more books you have...the better off and better informed you are I say !


Tracy...

Very true. I've tried to locate every Lizzie book I have run across. Some of them are better than others. Some are downright silly. I think Rebello did the best job of collecting every single thing known about the case and putting it in a nice comprehensive single unit.
I found tons of info in it that I'd never come across before. So it was great to read about that. So little's known about some parts of Lizzie's life.

The Sourcebook I found interesting, since it shows a lot of early misprints on the actual facts of the case. I kept reading along and saying "That's not what happened". Even way back then they weren't getting it right.

Julie