Mondo Lizzie Borden

Bloody Rare Books has had a placeholder for a long while where their Lizzie Borden Collection was one day supposed to go. Well that day has finally arrived and I am happy to say that the site is spectacular!

With research and writing by Richard Behrens, of “Lizzie Borden: Girl Detective” and GardenBay Films (which produces the Lizzie Mini films), this section of the rare book store site is jam-packed with Lizzie info, including a most excellent retelling of the trial of Lizzie Borden.

Bloody Rare indicates that their Lizzie Borden inventory will be uploaded soon. I can’t wait!

A group of rather inventive T-shirt designs have popped up recently on Zazzle.com.

Zazzle is the world’s leading platform for quality custom products. Zazzle’s proprietary technology enables individuals, professional artists, and major brands, including Disney and Hallmark, to create and offer billions of unique products for customers worldwide. Zazzle’s rapidly expanding product base covers every topic imaginable and includes t-shirts, business cards, invitations, in addition to a variety of custom gifts. Upon creation, products are instantly and accurately visualized on the site and offered in the Zazzle marketplace. When ordered, each product is made on-demand, typically within 24 hours. Launched in 2005 and based in Redwood City, California, Zazzle’s vision is to redefine commerce, powered by the world’s imagination.

Here are a sampling of their Lizzie Borden wearables.

I really like this one!

Purchase yours here.

This one is less dark and more comical.

Purchase yours here.

This one reminds me of the Haunted Mansion characters at Disney World.

Purchase yours here.

The print version of the 4th edition of the Literary Hatchet is available for sale!

You can order your copy here for only $8.00!

This issue contains some amazing fiction and poetry, from some fabulous writers.

Here is the Table of Contents:

Please support our writers and order your copy today!

The new issue of the FREE Literary Hatchet is now online for your reading pleasure. This issue is dedicated to the late William Schley-Ulrich.

You will find wonders within its pages, a gem in every poem and story.

We hope you enjoy it.

You can download your free copy here.

Just click Downloads, fill out the form for Issue #4 and it will download to your computer.

Warm wishes for a happy new year,

Stefani Koorey
Editor/Publisher
The Literary Hatchet

Another little tidbit from Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River was posted online today at the website for the Fall River Historical Society.

And a lovely Christmas present it is!

Also: the Historical Society has released a statement regarding the book’s scheduled publication!

I have seen the cover of this book and it is going to be a first class production.

For those who like to hold their Hatchets in their hands, the print version (hard copy) of the latest issue is available for order!

You can grab yours here. Only $14.99 for 86 pages of great scholarship, humor, and excellent analysis!

Check out the content here.

Short piece on Fox Providence on the opening of the Lizzie Borden exhibit, A Tale of Two Cities, held at Gallery X in New Bedford, MA. This appeared on TV October 15, 2009.

Every day, it seems, we hear of even more events that revolve around Lizzie Borden. Something is definitely in the air!

Here is a recap of what’s ahead for the month of October. Check back soon for all the events for November!

October 14, Wednesday, Lynn Public Library, Lynn, MA, 7-8:30 pm.
The Delvena Theatre Company will once again present their play “The Trial of Lizzie Borden,” where the audience serves as the jury.
The Lynn Public Library is located at 5 North Common Street | Lynn, Massachusetts 01902 | Phone: 781-595-0567.
For further information.

October 16, Friday, Fairhaven Town Hall, Fairhaven, MA, 7 pm.
Donations accepted and light refreshments will be served.
Jules Ryckebusch will present a lecture titled “Lizzie Borden: Myths and Legends”
Info on the Town Hall.
Story about the lecture.

October 19, Monday, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, 6:30 pm.
Free. Building C, Room 111.
Part of the Fall River Historical Society’s Lizzie A. Borden Lecture Series
Kim Dennis, psychic medium, lecture titled “Lizzie Borden – Her Side of the Story”

If Lizzie Borden could tell her story, what would it be? Canadian clairvoyant and medium Kim Dennis believes she was contacted by Lizzie who is ready to reveal the truth behind the Borden murders. Find out how Kim first became aquainted with Lizzie in her living room, and how she paired up with a journalist to document and accurately verify her “insider” information with a trip to Fall River in 2008 and a stay at the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast. The revelation will astound you and the details may put to rest the theories and finally bring peace to the 117 year old mystery.
For further information.

October 22, Thursday, Fall River Superior Court, Fall River, MA, 7 pm.
Free.
Lizzie Borden Redux, a mock retrial of the Lizzie Borden trial of 1893.
To obtain free tickets, mail a self-addressed stamped envelope to “Lizzie, Redux Request”, care of Clerk Magistrate Marc J. Santos, Bristol County Clerk of Courts, 441 N. Main St., Fall River, MA 02720. There will be two tickets issued per request. Tickets will be honored until 20 minutes before the performance, after which there will be a general admission until capacity is reached.
For further information.

October 23, Friday, Providence, RI, 7 pm.
Providence Ghost Tour, featuring some “haunts” of the Borden sisters.
Check out the web site here.

October 26, Monday, Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA, 6:30 pm.
Free. Building C, Room 111
Jill Dalton, award-winning actress, lecture titled “Lizzie Borden Live: From the Page to the Stage”

Jill Dalton’s Lizzie Borden Live combines historical facts with theatrical license as she portrays one of the most famous women from the annals of America’s Victorian past. This is a fascinating look at how the actress took a historic character and adapted her for the stage. Who knows? Lizzie may just make an appearance.
For further information.

October 31, Saturday, Eagle Performing Arts Center, Fall River, MA. 8 pm.
Tickets $25. At www.lizziebordenlive.com Click on ‘Schedule’ page or call (508) 989-9207.

$5 off for students, seniors and current union members (available at the door only)
If you like come dressed as your favorite character from the story or any costume you wish. Prizes for best costume
Grand prize: One night stay at the Lizzie Borden B&B (If you dare!)
Second prize: One-year subscription to The Hatchet
Third prize: Two tickets for the Providence Ghost Tour
For further information.

Link.

PearTree Press is in production for a podcast related to all things Lizzie Borden. We have several episodes ready to go, but . . . .

we need a name.

We offer a few suggestions, but would rather you think of a new one in the last spot on the poll. Be creative, but the words Lizzie Borden should be in the title, so folks can find it!

Would you help us?

On Thursday, September 24, the mock trial of Lizzie Borden was held in the very courtroom in New Bedford where she was tried in 1893.

While the ballots were being counted, Judge Kane was asked about what was the difference between then and now, between trials from Lizzie’s time and current procedures. His responses may surprise you!

Monday, September 21, 2009.
6:30 pm
Bristol Community College, Fall River, MA
Building C, room 111

NOTE: Last week’s lecture was standing room only, so please arrive early!

Bonnie Mendes, Director of the Somerset Public Library and Ann Rockett-Sperling, educator

Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River
Readings from the Fall River Historical Society’s upcoming publication

Relying on an extensive number of previously unpublished manuscripts and diaries, including a plethora of material gleaned from private collections, Parallel Lives provides unprecedented insight into Lizzie’s world, into Her Fall River. Researched and written for the Society by its curatorial staff, Parallel Lives uses the time span of the family of Andrew Jackson Borden as the framework around which the story unfolds. No attempt is made to retell the story of the Borden murder case, but, rather, a picture is painted of the Fall River Lizzie knew. It was a city of sharp contrasts, where a privileged few, entrenched on “the Hill,” lived their lives surrounded by the factories and laborers that were their lifeblood, with one unable to exist without the other. Fall River is brought to life: the people, the sounds, and the events that formed its history. Parallel Lives takes the reader back in time and provides a never-before-seen look at her life, and the environment in which she lived it. Here we meet a flesh and blood Lizzie in full color—a woman who was anything but the icon created by those who did not know her personally. Those who did painted an entirely different picture of the mistress of Maplecroft—and the stories they had to tell are here collected for the first time in Parallel Lives.

As the Library Director of the Somerset Public Library, Bonnie Mendes is well known in the local community. A Somerset native, she attended Fitchburg State College, obtaining her degree in English with a concentration in American Literature. After graduation, she began work in the Reference Department of the Fall River Public Library, thus sowing the seeds of her passion for Fall River history. She attended the University of Rhode Island, graduating with a Masters in Library and Information Science in 1986, and at that time began work as the Reference Librarian at the Somerset Public Library. She currently holds the position of Library Director, and is a candidate in the American Library Association’s Certified Public Library Administrator program. An avid reader, she is involved in a number of professional library associations as well as many community organizations. Visit the website for the Somerset Publc Library!

Ann Rockett-Sperling, a retired elementary educator in the Fall River Public School System, is an active member of the Fall River Historical Society.

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This just in . . .

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Donel Fattibene’s new book, I Did It!, currently for sale only at the Fall River Historical Society (online and in person), has a big write up in the Herald News on Monday, August 23, 2009.

You can read all about it here.