The Borden Murders

Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century

By: Sarah Miller

Narrated by: André Santana

With murder, court battles, and sensational newspaper headlines, the story of Lizzie Borden is compulsively listenable and perfect for the Common Core.

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

In a compelling, linear narrative, Miller takes listeners along as she investigates a brutal crime: the August 4, 1892, murders of wealthy and prominent Andrew and Abby Borden. The accused? Mild-mannered and highly respected Lizzie Borden, daughter of Andrew and stepdaughter of Abby. Most of what is known about Lizzie’s arrest and subsequent trial (and acquittal) comes from sensationalized newspaper reports; as Miller sorts fact from fiction, and as a legal battle gets under way, a gripping portrait of a woman and a town emerges.

Listeners will devour this nonfiction book that reads like fiction.

A School Library Journal Best Best Book of the Year

"Sure to be a hit with true crime fans everywhere." —School Library Journal, Starred

Critic reviews

“Like a historical version of ‘Law & Order,’ the book chronologically reviews and defines the case in lively prose…Miller presents the macabre subject matter so objectively that readers will find their opinions of Borden’s criminal potential shifting from chapter to chapter.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Fans of the podcast Serial will find much to enjoy here, as each chapter reveals a new piece of the puzzle and examines it from every angle available…Sure to be a hit with true crime fans everywhere.” —School Library Journal starred review

"The high-appeal topic will attract many readers, and the suspenseful account will have them trying to solve this still unresolved murder mystery." —Kirkus Reviews

“…an exhaustive look at the famous unsolved murders of August 1892…Miller relies on newspaper accounts and court transcripts to create lively scenes filled with authentic dialogue, making for a suspenseful crime story, which is all the more intriguing for its lasting doubt.” –Publishers Weekly

A fascinating journey

A fascinating journey through a take we all know superficially. I found it most interesting, often riveting. A well told history.

Well researched, terribly narrated

Sarah Miller’s THE BORDEN MURDERS takes a fresh look on the murders of Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother, deaths which she was charged and later convicted of committing.

I’ve read nearly every available written about Lizzie. What I liked most about Miller’s account is that she debunked several misconceptions about Lizzie’s personality backed by news archives and personal accounts. Lizzie was a woman both of her time and ahead of her time. Longing for independence, perhaps even sexually while also content to do charity work, visit the sick and donate to children and animal charities.

Most Borden scholars believe she committed the murders, because there seem to be no credible alternatives, despite that a Portuguese immigrant in Fall Rivers plead guilty to a similar hatchet murder nearly a year later. The man, with no ties to the community, was later mysteriously pardoned.

Interesting and pulls you in

Really enjoyed this audiobook and the writing really pulls you in. Looked forward to listening to it and sad it ended!

Different Viewpoint of the Borden Murders

I have read many books about the Borden murders. This one was interesting because it was written from a slightly different point of view without beating me over the head with it. But I still found myself wanting to say, "Lizzie did it!".