Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Since August 1892 there have been many works of fiction that reference the Borden murders. I think someone may have listed these works somewhere? Any advice?

Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" (aka "Ten Little Indians") references this case without using the Borden name.
Agatha Christie's "Ordeal by Innocence" refers to the Borden murders by name.

Can anyone else add to this list from personal knowledge?

well, there is the engstrom book about lizzie -- outlandish fiction.

the hunter book on lizzie is fiction.

angela carter wrote a great lizzie fiction.

In The Hatchet, Dec./Jan 2005, there was a neat short article about how the Shirley Jackson book We Have Always Lived In The Castle was based loosely on the Borden saga, written by Loretta Ross.

I had read that book in the late 1960's, and never equated it with the Bordens. Makes me want to read it again to see the influence.

Satterwait has Lizzie smoking cigars and hacking up a mad woman who killed her blackmailer.....

The movie "Strait Jacket" with Joan Crawford is based somewhat on the Borden murders. There's even a rhyme ala Lizzie but with Crawford's character's name in its place. I don't know if that was a book, tho. I get the feeling that it never was a book - that someone just wrote the script up.

What was her name in that movie??? Lucy something. Lucy what? It had two syllables. Dang, I know that.

Robert Bloch, the guy who wrote "Psycho", wrote a short Lizzie story. I'd really like to read that.

"The Simpsons" tv show had two episodes where they referred to Lizzie Borden. In one, which is the most talked about, Homer sells his soul for a donut and Lizzie Borden is on the jury that is filled with other people they figure are in hell (Dillinger, Benedict Arnold, etc.).

The other episode takes place in Bart's classroom. His teacher mentions doing a play and picking someone to be Lizzie Borden. It was just a one-line thing.

Lucy Harbin

http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/m ... v_id=47168

augusta @ Wed May 17, 2006 6:47 am wrote:The movie "Strait Jacket" with Joan Crawford is based somewhat on the Borden murders. There's even a rhyme ala Lizzie but with Crawford's character's name in its place. I don't know if that was a book, tho. I get the feeling that it never was a book - that someone just wrote the script up.

What was her name in that movie??? Lucy something. Lucy what? It had two syllables. Dang, I know that.

Robert Bloch, the guy who wrote "Psycho", wrote a short Lizzie story. I'd really like to read that.

"The Simpsons" tv show had two episodes where they referred to Lizzie Borden. In one, which is the most talked about, Homer sells his soul for a donut and Lizzie Borden is on the jury that is filled with other people they figure are in hell (Dillinger, Benedict Arnold, etc.).

Interesting: turns out Robert Bloch wrote the screenplay for Strait-Jacket. Here are some reviews and opther information on the film:

http://imdb.com/title/tt0058620/

http://www.moria.co.nz/horror/straitjacket.htm

I love that Simpsons episode; it's a great take-off on The Devil and Daniel Webster. And the jury from hell includes the 1980 Philadelphia Flyers.

Lynn

Let me make myself perfectly clear.
I meant books (like the mystery novels I often read) that did not deal with the unsolved murder of 8/4/1892.

Thank you everybody for your input.

The only fiction book "mystery novel" I have read which I believe was loosly based on the Borden situation is the Shirley Jackson - "We Have Always Lived In The Castle" as I mentioned.

Don't know how many have read that.

There was that Marry Higgins Clark book....

'There's no place like home'.

I did not find it to be one of her more memorable works....

Augusta writes:

Robert Bloch, the guy who wrote "Psycho", wrote a short Lizzie story. I'd really like to read that.

Do you have back issues of The Lizzie Borden Quarterly, Augusta?

Robert Bloch's story "Lizzie Borden Took an Axe ..." was reprinted in the LBQ in January 1994.

Jackson's "We Have Always Lived In The Castle" was one of my favorite reads as a teenager. I highly recommend it, and "The Haunting of Hill House" as well.

My Jackson favorite is The Lottery.


Tracy...

Oh my gosh, we were all Shirley Jackson freaks in our teens!! Yay!

Oh boy! You guys gave me a treasure trove of stuff! Thank you!

Audrey - So it was "Lucy Harbin". Well, it doesn't ring a bell. I never would have come up with it.

At the time it was made, Joan Crawford had ties to the Pepsi-Cola Company. There's a scene in the kitchen where you can see a carton of Pepsi bottles on the counter.

Diana - Yes, I have the back issues of the LBQ. The Robert Bloch story is in that one issue??? Really? Really?? I'll look that up. I'd think it'd be good. No, no. Don't tell me.

Wordweaver - Robert Bloch wrote the 'Strait Jacket' script??? Wow - that's surprising. I didn't realize that. Thanks!