Survey of current posters' ideas of the culprit

[eddylzb59]

I am reading "The History & Haunting of Lizzie Borden" and just finished "Lizzie Dident do it" both great books with opposite viewpoints.Any thoughts on these 2 books in particular???

[PossumPie]

Welcome, eddylz59.
The two books you mention are blended fact, incorrect information, and pure fiction. They are entertaining in the sense that they may be a good read (however I cringed at the grammatical and spelling errors in "History & Haunting") but much of what was presented as fact was pure fiction. For one thing, Abby's body was cool, Andrew's was warm, Abby's blood was thick and clotting, Andrew's blood was still oozing out and liquid and Abby's stomach contents were more digested than Andrews all of which suggest scientifically and beyond reasonable doubt that Abby was killed about one to one-and-a-half hours EARLIER than Andrew. The "Lizzie didn't do it" book suggests Andrew was killed first.

If you want good, factual reading I'd start with Lizzie Borden Past & Present by Rebello (Sometimes hard to find or expensive) There are others that are entertaining and MOSTLY factual but just beware that almost all contain information that is inaccurate. If you are simply interested in fun reading without worrying so much about facts there are many other books...Edward Radin's "Lizzie Borden: The Untold Story" and David Kent's "Forty Whacks" have entertainment value and are mostly factual. I like "A Private DIscrace" by Ms. Lincoln. Some questionable facts in it but a fun read.
Lizzie books fall into two categories: Factual which tend to be dry but stick with what actually happened, and books that start with some facts and then make up fantastic things to help sell the book. I'm not faulting them as they can be entertaining, but if you are looking to try to figure out who really killed the Bordens, trial transcripts and witness testimony are the best sources.

[camgarsky4]

Good advise Possum.

I would add William Spencer's "Case Against Lizzie Borden" to the Rebello list of good factual books. I have only found incidental errors. He does a pretty good job of being clear when he is deducing or speculating. But for the most part it is a chronological sequence based presentation of the facts.

[Reasonwhy]

eddylzb59, welcome to the forum!

The Knowlton Papers is great, too, for background on the prosecution’s case development (completely factual). Included are letters written to Knowlton from the public, some from the learned, some from town gossips, offering theories of the murders. Might read this after Rebello, if you can get that, or Spencer, if you can’t.

Must say I enjoyed both of the books you mention, despite problems, as attempts to provide the authors’ solutions. It is good to be aware, though, as you may already well be, that they are not the most strictly factual. Pittman’s needs better sourcing and a proofreader, I think you may agree.

Happy reading!

[Reasonwhy]

mbhenty, I hope my last post to you came across in the spirit of humor—upon re-reading it, maybe not Anyway, as I always do, I enjoyed your story. It does sound like you were lucky not to have them give you a nickname…

[mbhenty]

No Reasonwhy, no problem'eh at all.

Tony, the fellow we called Scabs hated his nickname, and I didn't blame him.

But being 13 or 14 years of age we were merciful in addressing him.

I remember we use to go to Lincoln Park, an amusement park between the cities of Fall River and New Bedford in Dartmouth every Sunday. Of course we were at an age in which our main objective was not riding the rides but in meeting girls. Tony was a handsome young man. But every time he was with a girl he would try and ignore us to which everyone would call out to him, "Hey Scabs, who's your girlfriend?" I've witnessed a fist fight over it once or twice.

But Tony was a sad case in that his mother was a cripple and died young. She had an affliction called Spinocerebellar ataxia. In it's Portuguese form it is known as Joseph Machado disease. The strain almost exclusively affects those of Portuguese descent. And it follows DNA strain. So his brother came down with it. I have known a host of people in Fall River with Machado disease. And family members right down the line always had someone who came down with it. The affects were similar to muscular dystrophy.

[mbhenty]

Good choice of books, PossumPie. Couldn't have said it better myself.

One must read everything.... well almost everything, on the case. After a while one does sort things out and come to a constructive conclusion, even if somewhat unverifiable.

But be careful what you read and what you hear from others.

I still wait by the chimney every Christmas and look under my pillow every morning to no avail. And the rabbit's foot was no help.

[Reasonwhy]

Mbhenty, so sorry to read of your friend Tony’s family. I had not heard of the disease before, so I read a bit about it. How awful to have suffered this with his mother and brother, both.