Lizzie Borden Society Forum

A reviewer of Edward D. Radins book on the Borden Murders made the following comment, seen below:

Unfortunately, assigning the motive of rage to Bridget is difficult, since there is no evidence that suggests that she harbored great hostility toward her employer. Was Bridget Lizzie's lover, and so her rage against Mrs. Borden was fueled by Lizzie's unjust treatment at the hands of her stepmother and father? There is no evidence to support this idea. Radin, I think, is seduced by the story that Bridget, in her old age, "almost" confessed during an illness that she supposed was her last.

I've read Radin several times and I don't believe he ever made a statement that Lizzie and Bridget were lovers, that would have been very shocking for 1961..... Am I wrong??

StevenB

Can you give the source of the quote, please?

Kat @ Wed Dec 06, 2006 12:33 am wrote:Can you give the source of the quote, please?

http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_m ... en/6b.html

Radin's book is fundamentally an attack on Pearson, whose book on Lizzie he considers "a literary hoax." In the long run, Pearson was biased against Lizzie, simply because his wide experience in the study of crime and his common sense told him so. Thus, his selection and interpretation of the evidence reflected his belief in her guilt.

In the process of debunking Pearson, Radin builds a case that Bridget, the maid, was the murderess. According to Radin, Bridget, ordered to wash windows on the hottest day of the year, went mad and hacked Mrs. Borden to death. She then murdered Mr. Borden in order to prevent him from reporting the hypothesized argument that Bridget had had with Mrs. Borden earlier in the morning, for such a report would incriminate her. This again is a theory that suggests that Mrs. Borden is the target victim, and that Mr. Borden is killed to keep him from identifying her murderer.

Unfortunately, assigning the motive of rage to Bridget is difficult, since there is no evidence that suggests that she harbored great hostility toward her employer. Was Bridget Lizzie's lover, and so her rage against Mrs. Borden was fueled by Lizzie's unjust treatment at the hands of her stepmother and father? There is no evidence to support this idea. Radin, I think, is seduced by the story that Bridget, in her old age, "almost" confessed during an illness that she supposed was her last.

Credibility Score: 2

Kat @ Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:33 am wrote:Can you give the source of the quote, please?

The quote seems to come from an unnamed source, and is no more reliable than some newspapers in 1892. Or maybe today.

This part "Pearson was biased against Lizzie, simply because his wide experience in the study of crime and his common sense told him so." seems like subjective opinion. Edmund Pearson was a librarian (and reporter?) who dug up old cases and reworked them to entertain the public who knew little about these old cases. Tittilation, not Common Sense; some say common sense isn't that common.

Creating a story where a person cleared of a crime because there was no evidence against her (or Bridget) is not a sign of great wisdom. IMO

No it came from a recent book review of books about the Borden Murders which I pasted the complete review above, and gave the web site addy. I may not have been clear about that. I was just flabbergasted that the person who wrote the review claimed Radin had stated in his book about Lizzie that she and Bridget were lovers because I read Radin's book twice or three times and I don't remember every reading that in his book. I asked about it to double check that I hadn't missed something in Radin's book. I believe the reviewer mixed Radin's book up with another book or was just mixed up themselves. BUT, if Radin had stated that Bridget and Lizzie were lovers then I needed to know that for my paper because I can't find it in Radin and I know I'm stressed atm, but I don't think I've completely around the bend!



StevenB

StevenB @ Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:57 pm wrote:No it came from a recent book review of books about the Borden Murders which I pasted the complete review above, and gave the web site addy. I may not have been clear about that. I was just flabbergasted that the person who wrote the review claimed Radin had stated in his book about Lizzie that she and Bridget were lovers because I read Radin's book twice or three times and I don't remember every reading that in his book. I asked about it to double check that I hadn't missed something in Radin's book. I believe the reviewer mixed Radin's book up with another book or was just mixed up themselves. BUT, if Radin had stated that Bridget and Lizzie were lovers then I needed to know that for my paper because I can't find it in Radin and I know I'm stressed atm, but I don't think I've completely around the bend!

StevenB

One thing you will learn in time is that reviewers are not experts, and may not be much better than some on this site. They may have an axe to grind.
PS
The invented story of a love affair between Lizzie and Bridget was invented to sell books. That review may have some special interest in making that comment.

StevenB[/quote]
One thing you will learn in time is that [b]reviewers are not experts[/b], and may not be much better than some on this site. They may have an axe to grind.
PS
The invented story of a love affair between Lizzie and Bridget was invented to sell books. That review may have some special interest in making that comment.[/quote]

That was not my point!



Thanks,

StevenB

The theory of Lizzie/Bridget was in Evan Hunter's fictionalized account, Lizzie: A Novel About Lizzie Borden - Her Life, Her Times, Her Crimes, Her Passion. published by Arbor House, 1984.

Haven't read it, don't want to. I have enough trouble with the non-fiction books.

Harry @ Thu Dec 07, 2006 7:55 pm wrote:The theory of Lizzie/Bridget was in Evan Hunter's fictionalized account, Lizzie: A Novel About Lizzie Borden - Her Life, Her Times, Her Crimes, Her Passion. published by Arbor House, 1984.

Haven't read it, don't want to. I have enough trouble with the non-fiction books.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Just recently I got through interlibrary loan Victorian Vistas and Joyce Williams book on Lizzie. I don't know if I have read the Evan Hunter book. I know I read some silly book on Lizzie and Bridget but I can't recall the author or title. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to reading the equally silly book by Marie Belloc Lowndes where she creates a fictional romance for Lizzie involving some goofy guy she supposedly met on her Grand Tour. Total fiction. Never happened.

But those fictional novels do sell quite well, don't they? And that is the point.
You can find this scheme by DeLillo (?) in his fiction about L. H. Oswald.

Unfortunately, no one will be able to read another fiction "If I Did It, Here's How It Happened". I wonder just how funny it would be?