Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Some here may be familiar with a little book by Barbara Silveria called THE DARK SIDE OF LIZZIE BORDEN.

Also, some may be familiar with my unforgiving criticism of authors who take liberty with the truth, embellish at will, or who are just downright reckless and derelict in their research.

If you're keeping account you can add Barbara Silveria's book to the long list.

On the title page Ms Silveria calls here book a novel. It is anything but. It is simple account, telling of events in the Borden saga. Also, it is one of the worst book bindings I have seen of a book written about the trail. Most copies fall apart after a short while of new. There is no copyright page and the book is glued together. Though the cover is quite attractive, color, font, picture, it is a real cheap publication and nowhere does it mention where or who published it.

But let us get to one of her accounts:

Exemplar #1 Quote:

"A WOMAN REFLECTING BACK, TOLD OF AN INCIDENT THAT TOOK PLACE WHEN THE BORDEN FAMILY VISITED FRIENDS IN SWANSEA. LIZZIE, THEN A CHILD, WAS PLAYING OUTSIDE, DISCOVERED A NEST OF ROBINS AND PROCEEDED TO CUT OFF THEIR HEADS. WHEN ASKED WHY SHE WOULD DO SUCH A THING, SHE SAID THAT SHE WANTED TO HAVE A FUNERAL."


Yep, true...................and George Reeves thought he was superman and killed himself by jumping out the window of a tall building.

Exemplar #2

Quote:

A RELATIVE OF HERS (Lizzie) DIED IN NEW BEDFORD. SHE WAS PROMISED TWO WHITE SKIRTS, AND WENT TO NEW BEDFORD TO COLLECT THEM. NOT ONLY DID SHE RETRIEVE THE PROMISED SKIRTS, SHE ALSO REMOVED THE ONE FROM THE CORPSE BEFORE IT WAS PUT INTO THE COFFIN.

Exemplar #3

A FRIEND WAS DYING IN BOSTON. LIZZIE, ALONE, WAS AT HER BEDSIDE. AFTER THE YOUNG WOMAN'S DEATH, ALL OF HER JEWLRY WAS MISSING AND BLACK MARKS WERE FOUND ON HER NECK.


Move over Victoria Lincoln.........................

Yikes! Guess I won't be buying that one!!

The way Silveria tells it, makes it sound like Bowen administered morphine and opium to Lizzie on a regular bases over a long period of time. On this subject she says:

Exemplar #4

Quote:

LIZZIE SUFFERED FROM HEADACHES THAT CAUSED HER SO MUCH PAIN, BOWEN HAD TO ADMINISTER MORPHINE, AND ON OCCASION OPIUM, TO CALM AND SEDATE HER.

Silveria also mentions, or implies that Borden was an embalmer, cutting up and preparing bodies and that the Borden girls were made to help. Of this she says:

Exemplar #5

Quote:

AS YOUNG LADIES, THE BORDEN GIRLS WERE OBLIGED TO HELP OUT IN THEIR FATHER'S FUNERAL PARLOR. A DISMAL VOCATION FOR TWO YOUNG WOMEN, WHO AT THAT TIME OF THEIR LIVES, WOULD NORMALLY HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR A MARRIAGE MATE, AS OTHER YOUNG WOMEN WERE DOING.

To this she adds, "death made her (Lizzie) inured to it. (death).


I can see why she calls this a novel. If you read it for yourself you will discover that no way does Silveria's book read like a novel.

But, to say it is a novel would give her the excuse, if questioned, that she was writing fiction.






Exemplar #5

Silveria states that:

Exemplar #6

LIZBETH DIED OF A HEART ATTACK.

Also adding that:

THE NIGHT BEFORE, AT THE UNDERTAKERS, HER BLACK DRAPED COFFIN HAD BEEN CARRIED OUT BY NIGHT AND LAID IN THE GRAVE BY BLACK BEARERS.

Here she implies that there was no funeral and that Lizzie was buried in secret, adding:

EVEN IN DEATH, SHE STILL MAINTAINED HER SECRECY.

Reading Ms Silveria's book one will discover many, many errors. Though one gets the feeling that she was trying to be sincere, she falls dismally short and the book as a whole becomes grossly suspect. There are ways to add most of the material she includes in her book and make it still credible.

All she needed to do was to add that some of the stories she tells were rumors, gossip, speculation, the talk of the day. In this way she could include some of these preposterous stories and make her book interesting and tenable.

But alas, Ms. Silveria believes what she writes and wants you to also. Thus, it can be said of Barbara Silveira's book that it is unreliable. Her information is dubious, hearsay, and involuntary delusional misconceptions.

As for Ms. Silveria being a writer I must add that she does grip one's attention. That being said it is not written with any commanding skill or literary adeptness. Though to call her a dilettante would be unkind, her book The Dark Side of Lizzie Borden is anything but well-founded or polished. Proof of that is how Silveria describes her book..........a novel. (which it is not)

Unless you are a hard core collector or a serious student of the case.......pass on it.

Below is my copy of The Dark Side of Lizzie Borden. As you can see the text has detached from the cover. Badly constructed most will probably suffer this faith. In time the pages themselves will separate from each other. Awful binding.

It might have been better if silveria had not only mentioned the gossip in her book but metioned it specifically with each item of gossip.

I have had that book for awhile but I only read the first few pages of it.

This brings me to an idea I have had for awhile. We should have a contest to see who can write the most inacurate, ridicules and funny version of the story.

Just curious - did she have a theory as to the motive for the murders?

Yes Kssunflower:

There is no doubt that Silveria points her finger to Lizzie, but the motive is unclear. (Or is it?) It appears that the author makes the claim that Lizzie was just nuts, nuts made so by lack of control.


Silveria claims that Lizzie had a dual, binary personality.

She calls it Lizzie's "evil opposite".

In this state "Lizzie was consumed with hatred" for Abby. It was as if she had an "evil twin", that she was mentally ill, that Lizzie had a "Dissociative Identity Disorder" Basically, that Lizzie was mentally ill, thus her "Dark Side". She even calls in Freud to add support to her conclusions.

She also adds that, "it has been strongly hinted that incest took place in the Borden home" and hints that all the gifts that Andrew Borden gave Lizzie was more or less to buy her silence.

Another story she tells is that one time Lizzie had some company over. Her cat kept jumping onto the lap of the visitor. Lizzie took the cat and disappeared with it. She then returned and told the visitor that "That cat will bother you no longer. I've chopped off its head".

Though Silveria claims that she is not sure she believes that Lizzie actually cut off the cats head, she does add she believes Lizzie did make the statement, that it was of "sadistic nature", thus leading us to believe that Lizzie had an evil side. After telling the little story she adds: Lizzie was said to have loved animals".

Thus the evil Lizzie, (Dark Side) killed the Bordens and that Hate and mental illness was the motive.

Oh, dear! Nothing like this has ever happened before (he chuckled, thnking of Karen somebody).

Well as a reply, the late Ms Silveria was my grandmother. She lived with the stories of our relative Lizzie for years...and this was a personal novel with some embellishment. And it wasn't published. It was printed and bound by family. So yes this isn't a professionally accomplished publisher, but it's the family's accounting of what's been passed down from generation to generation.

This is as human and as honest as you will get. I applaud my grandmother who was in her 70's to take and write this for us and for historys sake.

kssunflower wrote: Wed May 06, 2009 3:59 pm Just curious - did she have a theory as to the motive for the murders?

As a relative, my late grand mother chose to write her interpretation of what was passed down thru the family. She believed Lizzy killed out of anger, and promoted by her mental issues and what we believed as to being a lesbian. There was so much going on in her life and head, it lead to this horrendous murder.

Poor Lizzie to have suffered so much hostile gossip. If Lizzie would have been found guilty and hanged, we would all be stating the horrible killing of an innocent American and discussing why Lizzie shouldn’t have been hanged. It may have even caused the death penalty to be abolished. However, the jury made the right decision and did not convict Lizzie based on circumstantial (and poor) evidence. Lizzie, an American, was tried and acquitted, however had to suffer horrible people’s attacks like the unjust Barbara Silveria’s. The best we can do is to spread the truth - that Barbara Silveria was completely false. “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord,” as Lizzie would know being a Christian; I have no doubt that those who spread faslehoods for their own benefit will be dealt with accordingly. R.I.P. Lizzie.

That sounds skittle too bizarre. Might just have to read it. But, seems you are right. Doesn't sound to credible.