Lizzie Andrew Borden is one of the most notorious women to
ever walk this earth. She and her older sister live in Fall
River, Massachusetts with their father and step mother.
Even
though their father has amassed quite a bit of money, he is
frugal to the point of cruelty, denying his family even the
simplest comforts. There is no electricity or indoor
plumbing for the Bordens because Andrew Borden sees these
things as a waste of money. Overall, he is a very cold
person who was less than a true father to his daughters.
Abby Durfee Gray enters the lives of the Bordens three
years
following the death of Andrew's first wife, and he decides
it is time he remarries. He chooses Abby because
she is a spinster, and he knows she will be grateful any
man wants to marry her.
Sadly, Abby never really
forms a loving connection with either of her step-
daughters.
Couple that with the iron fist Andrew uses to rule the
Borden household and the tension within these walls grows
by
leaps and bounds.
All of this tension culminates on the morning of August 4,
1892 when both Andrew and Abby are found murdered within
the
house, having been hacked to death with what seems to be a
hatchet. Lizzie is arrested and charged with these murders.
Later, she is acquitted of this horrific crime but no one
ever forgives or forgets, and she is doomed to live a
lonely
existence.
While everyone is familiar with the story of Lizzie Borden,
there have always been conflicting accounts of what
actually
happened at 92 Second Street on that hot August day; THE
SECRETS OF LIZZIE BORDEN offers one of the most fascinating
theories of all. Author Brandy Purdy takes a mixture of
facts and speculation to put her own personal spin on this
terrible tale of madness and murder. While she warns that
it
should be taken as a work of fiction, there are many facets
that feel as if they are truth.
Lizzie Borden has always been a very thought-provoking
figure in American history and many versions of her story
have been depicted in the media throughout the years. THE
SECRETS OF LIZZIE BORDEN is the one version that must not
be
missed. Written with a kind compassion Lizzie does not
always receive in the re-telling of her story, I was
treated
to a new Lizzie Borden. This Lizzie does, indeed, have many
secrets, and by the time you turn the final page, you will
know them all.
In THE SECRETS OF LIZZIE BORDEN, I found a young girl who
was never allowed to be her own person. I also discovered a
woman who did whatever she needed on her journey to finding
the one thing she wanted and needed the most—love. On
this
journey, she learned that both love and trust are things
not easily encountered.
THE SECRETS OF LIZZIE BORDEN presents a new way of peering
into the ongoing historical puzzle that continues to have
people wondering what really happened. I had a very
difficult time pulling myself away from this mesmerizing
story. Even though I have always been rather sympathetic to
Lizzie's plight, this version of events helped me to
understand her even more.
For everyone with a bit of an armchair detective in them,
THE SECRETS OF LIZZIE BORDEN will enthrall you. It will be
impossible to stop reading once you begin. That is just how
gripping this story is. Do yourself a favor and pick up a
copy today. It will linger in your thoughts long after you
have finished reading.
In her enthralling, richly imagined new novel, Brandy Purdy,
author of The Ripper’s Wife, creates a compelling
portrait of the real, complex woman behind an unthinkable crime.
Lizzie Borden should be one of the most fortunate young
women in Fall River, Massachusetts. Her wealthy father could
easily afford to provide his daughters with fashionable
clothes, travel, and a rich, cultured life. Instead, haunted
by the ghost of childhood poverty, he forces Lizzie and her
sister, Emma, to live frugally, denying them the simplest
modern conveniences. Suitors and socializing are
discouraged, as her father views all gentleman callers as
fortune hunters.
Lonely and deeply unhappy, Lizzie stifles her frustration,
dreaming of the freedom that will come with her eventual
inheritance. But soon, even that chance of future
independence seems about to be ripped away. And on a
stifling August day in 1892, Lizzie’s long-simmering anger
finally explodes…
Vividly written and thought-provoking, The Secrets of
Lizzie Borden explores the fascinating events behind a
crime that continues to grip the public imagination—a story
of how thwarted desires and desperate rage could turn a
dutiful daughter into a notorious killer.