The Borden Murders Lizzie Borden & The Trial Of The Century by Sarah Miller

What a way to start off the new year of reading! A non-fiction story of a murder.  Years ago I saw the movie of Lizzie Borden portrayed by Elizabeth Montgomery(from the show Bewitched), and it portrayed Lizzie as guilty. I didn't realize what a mess the whole investigation was! In this book the author separates facts from fiction and legend. I found the whole story very interesting. I think that I, like most people, assumed that Lizzie Borden got away with murder, after all, if you are anyone around my age or older you grew up hearing the old rhyme:

Lizzie Borden took an axe,
Gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one. 

The author of The Borden Murders presents what evidence, and transcripts from the trial are still available. While I think the idea was to present unbiased information and to debunk myth and legends surrounding Lizzie's life, I did get the impression that the author probably believes that Lizzie was innocent of the murders of her parents. Nobody will ever know the truth of what happened that day in 1892, if Lizzie was guilty she took that secret with her to her grave.

This book is marketed as a middle-grade book. I'm not sure I agree with that. Maybe I am selling the middle graders short, but I don't see that age group being interested in something that happened in the 1800's let alone being interested in reading about the trial. I on the other hand found it a very interesting read and was totally engrossed while reading.