|
One August Morning: The True Story of Lizzie Borden by Troy Taylor is an excellent
examination of one of America’s most mysterious unsolved murders. It happened in 1892 and it is still unsolved (though Taylor presents an interesting and possible solution).
For a long time I believed that Lizzie Borden had managed both to murder her parents and avoid a conviction. Taylor’s book convinces me that the apparently strong case presented by Edwin H Porter in his book “The Fall River Tragedy” (1893) is very slanted in its presentation of the evidence and the demeanour of Lizzie Borden. Taylor analyses the time lines in the case and states that:
“The 30 minutes between the time that Andrew Borden returned at 10:45 a.m, and the cry of ‘murder’ that sounded at 11:15 is perhaps the most studied half-hour in American criminal history and is also perhaps the most puzzling.”
He proposes that possibly it was a different half-hour—the period between 10:45 and 11:15 “when the first telephone call was made to the Fall River police station” that is vital. There is also the problem that Mrs Borden had been slaughtered an hour or more earlier and her dead body had been lying untouched until it was found after Andrew’s death.
The book follows the trial carefully and uses primary sources to support inferences. The later lives of Lizzie and her older sister conclude this very interesting book.
Troy Taylor is described as “a supernatural historian, murder buff and author of almost 90 books on ghosts, hauntings, history, crime and the unexplained in America.” There is, at the end, a brief mention of hauntings or “events” at the Borden house (which is now a bed and breakfast tourist stop). But the book is well written and resourced. That includes Taylor’s suggested solution which does have probability but which he clearly states remains unprovable.
There are photographs of the site and the main players in this very strange murder mystery. It,is,well worth reading and is available on Kindle Unlimited and on the Kindle Store.
|