Mondo Lizzie Borden

This sounds like one of the coolest teachers ever. It is perfectly amazing that in order to give the cast a better understanding of the Lizzie Borden case before they performed Ed Valentine’s new play (Lizzie: The Hatchet Hour), that production historian Tim Oliveira took them to Fall River and immersed them in the reality of things. I bet the students and the play was better for it! Three cheers for Tim Oliveira and Mr. Valentine!

From the Spring 2006 issue of Adelphi Update for Community College Students, Faculty, and Administrators:

Adelphi Performing Arts students learned more than their lines for the recent production of Lizzie: or The Hatchet Hour, a Black Box performance representing playwright Ed Valentine’s fascination with the life of Lizzie Borden, who was accused and later acquitted of the gruesome, and to this date unsolved, 1892 murder of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Last fall, in preparation for the performance, production historian Tim Oliveira, a performing arts major and Fall River native, brought some cast members to the Borden home. The murder scene is now a historical site (and for those so inclined to sleep at the scene of the crime, it’s a bed and breakfast by night). The home provided a real link for the Adelphi actors preparing for their roles in Lizzie. Jen Stephens, who played Lizzie, and Meaghan Wade, cast as her stepmother Abby (stabbed multiple times), enjoyed a grand tour of the premises led by Borden Home historian Edward Thibault, who dressed and played the part of slain father Andrew J. Borden. Suffolk County Community College graduate and transfer student John Cabrera brought this role to life in Adelphi’s production.

For a more in-depth understanding of the play’s Victorian setting, Tim Oliveira continued the tour of the former mill town of Fall River and the Oak Grove Cemetery, where several Bordens, prominent members of this New England community, are buried. Lizzie’s grave is so popular that a path of black arrows leads to the tombstone. Tim, himself a Lizzie aficionado, noted that of the six headstones for members of Lizzie’s immediate family, all have their initials only except for the one marked “Lizbeth,” Lizzie’s pseudonym following the trial.

These are exciting times for Adelphi University and New York University playwright Ed Valentine. Adelphi’s production of Lizzie: or The Hatchet Hour has been nominated for the John Cauble Short Play Award and the Mark David Cohen National Playwriting Award, both sponsored by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Adelphi students Jen Stephens as Lizzie and Kiki Snodgrass as the Borden maid Bridget also received critical acclaim for their roles. Both were nominated for the Irene Ryan Candidacy, a competition and award in association with The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, the finalist to be announced in April. Accolades and accomplishments abound.

Adelphi’s staging of the premiere production of Ed Valentine’s story was an important dramatic visualization for the playwright; and the performing arts students were able to apply theatrical academics in the disciplines of dramaturgy, acting, and stage design. Playwright and players gained from a collaborative association.

Here is a complete PDF copy of the Spring 2006 newsletter.

From the April 25-May 1, 2005, “For Your Information” newsletter, published weekly by the Bristol Community College of Communications:

An evening with an old friend and Miss Lizzie Borden: Join the Taunton Literacy Council and Professor Emeritus Jules Ryckebusch for an evening of Lizzie Borden on May 16. The event is a fundraiser for the Literacy Council. Jules, an internationally known expert on Fall River’s most famous case, will make a presentation and take questions from the audience. The $10 admission fee will be used to support tutor training and materials for the Taunton Literacy Council. It will take place at Benjamin’s in Taunton from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Too bad I missed this one. I bet it was great. Here is the complete PDF for you to download. If you would like to read all of these newsletters, here is the link to the site of their archive.

Lizzie Borden would have been 146 years old today, July 19.

Well, I guess if you are just into ghosts, Kirsten’s blog on the haunting of 92 Second Street is something you might find interesting enough to read. If you are into the case, it won’t be a good experience. My favorite part is—well—all of it. Too funny!

Here is a snippet:

Abbey is sometimes seen making beds around the home and she climbs into the guests’ beds with them quite often as well. Most of the time, Abbey is seen in clear and plain view. Many people around the house claim to hear voices and the opening and closing of doors. Sometimes people hear two women arguing and other times women crying. Footsteps are quite frequently heard around the home and with it’s past, it’s a very likely place for such a haunting.

Isn’t hearing voices a sign of schizophrenia? Or is there a new diagnosis for this malady—LizzieSkhizein (the overwhelming urge to hear the voices of victims of hatchet murders).

From REPORT ON 2003 WORKSHOP ON GENDER ISSUES IN THE SCIENCES held June 11-13, 2003, at Colby College, Waterville, Maine.

“Successful Strategies for Advancement” by Dr. Emily Toth, Robert Penn Warren Professor of English, Louisiana State University.

I am not a scientist by background, though I have lived with a chemist for most of my adult life. But my first book, published in 1976, was one of the few at that time on the subject of menstruation. My first department head couldn’t mention it without blushing. My two co-authors were also literature scholars, and our book is called, The Curse: A Cultural History About Menstruation. It is not about medical, but cultural aspects, of what we call, “the friendly monthly nuisance.” Among other chapters, we had a chapter on the menstrual products industry, which we called “From Rags to Riches.” And we had one on menstruation jokes - “Red Humor” - and
we had one on famous menstruators in history, which we called “The Menstrual Hall of Fame.”

Now, I wouldn’t call these famous menstruators the role models that women need, because one of them was Lizzie Borden, who was probably the most famous New England menstruator of the 19th century. She killed her parents during PMS. She was our first known menstrual murderess. Lizzie Borden was, however, useful in other ways. We were looking for examples of the power of women, and the ability of women to make choices and be resourceful. In that case, Lizzie Borden was a role model. When Lizzie Borden went on trial in the 1890’s in Fall River Massachusetts, everyone in town knew she had killed her parents. The jury was all male, and the judges and lawyers were all men, so when they asked Lizzie Borden why there was blood on her skirt, she said, ”I have fleas,” which is an expression meaning, “I have my period.” The men were so embarrassed that they acquitted her. She spent the rest of her life living in Fall River, Massachusetts, trying to give candy to little kids who ran away screaming in horror.

Well cut off my legs and call me shorty. File this one in the dirty diaper pail.

Here is a PDF of the entire newsletter so you can read more!

Did you know there was a Morse Society? And did you know that their coat of arms is an axe? And that they have a quarterly newsletter and offer a free sample? And did you know that they are having a reunion this year in October in Fall River? And that one of the attractions that is on the schedule is a tour of the Lizzie Borden B&B? And did you know . . .

Well you can find out for yourself at the Morse Society web page. Happy Morsing!

From the New York Times, August 20, 1892:

I never thought about the Samuels’ book Girl in the House of Hate as being a part of a series of lurid tales, but El Postino did on his blog Paranoia Strikes Deep. Wow, look at what he found!

When you see them all in a row like that you really see the gratuitous and sensationalized nature of the product! They are all by the same artist and are truly 50s bookcover kitsch—well worth collecting in their own right.

Oooh, and look at the last one The Girl on the Gallows. It is by Q. Patrick. Where do I know that name from? Oh yeah, from my own Borden bibliography: Q. Patrick, (pseudonym). “The Case for Lizzie.” The Pocket Book of True Crime Stories. Ed. Anthony Boucher. NY: Pocket Books, 1943. According to the late Terence Duniho, “Patrick Q.” was a pseudonym for Richard Wilson Webb and Hugh Callingham Wheeler. They also wrote under the names Patrick Quentin and Jonathan Stagge.

She looks like Vivian Leigh from Gone with the Wind to me.

RRAuction.com is offering for sale a page from that financial book that has been on and off eBay for years. Here is a direct link to their sale, which closes, by chance, on Lizzie’s birthday, July 19, 2006. I think the seller is finally going to get what they have been wanting all these years as the bidding stands at $3146 today.

And to think, they offered it to me earlier this year for $1000!

“The root of all evil: A year before the grisly double murder that would propel her into infamy, Lizzie Borden and her sister sign a financial document.”

175. Lizzie Borden. On August 4, 1892, the axe-mutilated body of prosperous businessman Andrew J. Borden was discovered in the parlor of his home at 92 Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Mr. Borden’s body had been found by his thirty-two-year-old daughter, Lizzie (1860–1927); soon after others arrived on the scene, the similarly brutalized corpse of Andrew’s wife (and Lizzie’s stepmother), Abby, was discovered in an upstairs bedroom. Thus began a sordid saga that would ultimately become one of the most celebrated unsolved cases in the history of American crime. Within days, the strange circumstances pointed to a prime suspect: Lizzie. When she was tried for the crime in the following summer, the evidence, though some of it circumstantial, appeared to be damning. Both Lizzie and her sister, Emma, harbored an intense dislike of their stepmother that only intensified when their father placed property—at one time, presumably, destined for them—in her name. On the day before the murders, Lizzie had attempted to purchase prussic acid—a deadly poison—from a nearby druggist. Nothing of value had been taken from the house, and Mr. and Mrs. Borden had been killed an hour and a half apart, making it extremely unlikely that an intruder was responsible. And, a few days after the murders and in the midst of the investigation, Lizzie was seen burning a “paint-stained” dress in the Borden backyard. At the conclusion of the two-week trial, which included the dramatic display of the slain Borden’s skulls, Lizzie was acquitted.

Despite her public exoneration, she was largely shunned by Fall River society for the remainder of her life, and the truth behind the events of that August day remains one of the most enduring mysteries in the annals of American folklore. Lizzie’s notoriety would ultimately blossom into full-fledged legend, perhaps best personified in the grisly (if historically inaccurate) children’s rhyme in which she dispatches her mother with forty-one whacks—”and when she saw what she had done, gave her father forty-one.” Very scarce manuscript DS, signed “Lizzie A. Borden” and “Emma L. Borden,” one lined page both sides, 11.25 x 15.5, 1891. A ledger leaf headed “Dividend, April 6, 1891, $2.50 per share,” listing some sixty-five persons, each of whom has acknowledged receipt by signing in the column at far right. Lizzie and Emma, each of whom owned two shares and earned a dividend of $5.00, signed on May 5. Of additional interest are the signatures of seven other Fall River Bordens (and one from Boston), at least some of whom were likely relatives of the Andrew J. Borden family. Though the precise origin of the original ledger is unknown, the well-to-do Andrew is known to have made a number of investments on behalf of his daughters, and the present document is presumably related to one of these. The undying fascination with the Borden case more than a century after the grim events has led to a vigorous demand for Lizzie’s autograph material that far outstrips the exceedingly limited supply. In fine, crisp condition, with mild, even toning. COA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA. ….(MB $1000)

The catalogue is in full color and 61 pages in length. It is a fascinating read, not just for the Lizzie reference, but for the rest of the items as well. Auction catalogues are great collections of historical study, often containing surprises and new facts previously not verified. Take a look and download the full PDF of the auction catalogue here.

From the New York Times, September 24, 1892.

Check this out. On the discreet confessions of Douglas T. Allbright, esq, cpa, in a blog entry dated July 22, 2005, the author penned an interesting piece on Lizzie Borden that is worth reading.

Don’t skip to the end and spoil it, you’ll ruin the effect.

From the New York Times, June 22, 1893. Two days following her acquittal.

“newsscout” found a fab-u-lous link to The Jack the Ripper Walking Tour. If you are planning a trip to London, or if you just want to pretend you are there now, you must take a look!

Includes: a Jack the RIpper Tour Site Map, a Walk Description, Directions, info on Ghost Walks, some Jack the Ripper history, details on the Route they take, and you can watch a section of their walk online. More of their walk videos can be viewed here.

And while we are on Jack the Ripper, I also highly recommend visiting the Casebook: Jack the Ripper site, as it is one of the best out there. They have all the latest information and news, and their forum is filled with famous authors and well-known Ripperologists.

On July 10, 2006, The Countess penned a blog entry about her stay at the Lizzie Borden B&B. I found it quite interesting not only because it is heartfelt, but because it is also a study of how a story evolves and changes in its passing from one person to another. Now I wouldn’t expect this author to cite sources or use reference works to back up her claims as that is not the point of her entry—hers is a personal tale of her impressions after visiting the house.

That house is an experience, and I always say that you can’t truly know the case until you visit that house. However, I find it particularly fascinating how the circumstances of the crimes have changed in this telling. We have to assume that either the tour guide told The Countess parts of the story incorrectly, or the writer embellished the tale told with her own feelings and impressions. Either way, what we have here is a very well written experiential essay that gets a lot of the facts wrong. I know I am nitpicking. I realize that unless you study it by reading all the primary sources that you might not know what’s really what with this case. But I see it all the time. I see the story of the case misrepresented in a factual nature.

The most amazing thing, however, is that this might not make a darn bit of difference in the long run. I mean, John Douglas, in his The Cases that Hunt Us, gets it ALL wrong, but his analysis portion feels spot on. He draws a picture of the possible killer that seems right in my gut, even though he bases all this on completely inaccurate information. It is almost as if the thing was written by two people.

Which brings me back to The Countess. She gets many parts of the story wrong (the maid coming down stairs, the switching of the bedrooms, the timing of the locking of the door between the parent’s room and Lizzie’s room, Lizzie’s size based on that dress at the house, the number of blows, the theft being of Andrew’s items, Lizzie being “stoned” at the moment before the murders, Morse being there last seven years ago, the idea that the bodies were rotting in the dining room for two days, to name a few), but she still has this overriding feeling about her experience there that makes her see the guilt of Lizzie the way she does.

She tries to tie her conclusions of Lizzie’s guilt to the facts, but since they are not totally accurate, I have to dismiss this part of her analysis. But I can’t dismiss her gut reaction after her visit that it had to be an inside job. That house will do that to you.

So if you are reading my blog about your blog, Countess, I just want you to know that I appreciate your instinctual reactions to what you saw and how it made you feel about this case. For that reason, I recommend it my readers.

I could spend hours on this list on Lizzie’s Place. Who knew there were so many famous Lizzie’s out there? The main page for the site is here.

Don’t forget to go all the way down the main page and listen to Gus Van and Joe Schenck perform “Strut, Miss Lizzie” from the Ziegfeld Follies of 1921, take the Lizzie Quiz, and click on tons of links to interesting Lizzie-lore. What a hoot!