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Did Lizzie Borden Axe For It?

By David Rehak

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Paperback, 276 pages

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Lizzie was an average, unremarkable woman, and the most extraordinary criminal or criminal suspect in history. Before she was accused of murder, she was a tiny grain of sand, an absolute nobody who no one took much notice of. But after she was accused of murder, she became an unforgettable symbol and legend, an absolute somebody. The debate on whether Lizzie Borden was innocent or guilty brings out passionate feelings and disagreements in every sort of person. The divide between those who believe she did the crime and those who don't sometimes runs very deep. Did Lizzie Borden take an "axe" and kill her parents? “Did Lizzie Borden Axe For It?” has been the “best-selling” book on Lizzie Borden since its initial publication, and here it is again in print. This new improved re-edited edition is revised and abridged and streamlined with a focus on better, more interesting and more relevant information, including over 20 new photos. 70 photographs and illustrations in all.

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Review Did Lizzie Borden Axe For It?

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Mar. 25, 2008 By Faye Musselman

"Lizzie book takes us on a wild ride!"
This 3rd & revised printing of David Rehak’s 270 pg. book, contains a never before seen note written in Lizzie’s hand shortly after the sinking of the Titanic.

This is a different kind of Lizzie book. Traditionally, the Lizzie books have a sequential, narrative progression, spilling forth the saga of the murders of Andrew & Abby Borden against the backdrop of Fall River, MA., and peppered with some new (and often outrageous) theory of who dunnit. Not this book. Instead Dave takes us on a thoroughly enjoyable Mr. Toad’s wild ride weaving in and out, up and down, over and around and back again, giving us punches of “in your face”... More > data to quickly absorb, question, and quickly move on.

With almost bullet-point speed he whisks us through “Lizzie didn’t do it”, then rebounds with “Lizzie did it” having laid out the basics and offers conclusions - not opinionated but taken from reportings of the day.

Then we are off and flying again into the skies of “whys”. Why was Lizzie thought to be a lesbian - featuring Nance O’Neil; why does Lizzie linger; why was Lizzie a romantic being, and so on. Along the read-ride we bump into Lizzie’s alleged boyfriend (David Anthony), the alleged illegitimate son of Andrew (William S. Borden), her disloyal friend (Alice Russell), her loyal supporter (Mary Livermore). If television’s TMZ and “Access Hollywood” were turned into a book on Lizzie, this would be it. Fast flashes that move from one salacious tidbit to another the reader learns something new, re-processes something already known, and finds points to question and challenge - depending upon the level of expertise of the reader.

While Mr. Rehak asserts he makes no claim as to her guilt or innocence, it is clear he has a real affection for the inscrutable Miss Borden and sways from an unbiased hand more than once. For this we can forgive him. Most authors attempting to maintain neutrality often write with a slight transparency allowing the reader to draw the correct conclusion.

There are two things that have never been published in any book on the Borden case before and they appear in this book only. First, a portrait of Andrew J. Borden as a young man - perhaps taken at the time he married Sarah Morse. Neither this image or similar image has appeared in a book up to this time. Second, and more importantly, something “new” in Lizzie’s own hand: a note she wrote not long after the sinking of the Titantic wanting the initial “B” placed on toiletry items for her matching case. It gives us insight into Lizzie’s own vanity, her keen eye for quality, and maybe even tells us how much that “B” as in B O R D E N meant to her.

I would recommend any Bordenia collector to purchase Dave’s book for these images alone. However, as the reader traverses through these pages, he/she will come upon many new images not published previously. In addition, one can’t help but chuckle at some of the fantasy in the form of poems, psychic contacts with meeting Lizzie, and particularly “Lizzie’s New Hat”, all the more solidifying the fact this is like no other Lizzie book and stands as an “Anomaly of Audacity” to put a twisted contemporary pun on it.

David Rehak has done us all a favor. He has given us a marvelous compendium representative of the orbit that spins around our Miss Lizzie, and he’s done it with originality, good humor, and a fast track ride wholly entertaining and worthy of our attention.

It was my pleasure to provide Dave, a kind & sensitive man I've known for 7 years with several of the images in the book, some not published before. I recommend you purchase this unique collectible and treat yourself to that wild ride!

Faye Musselman
Payson, AZ
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Product Details

ISBN	978-1-4357-1175-4
Copyright	Standard Copyright License
Publisher	David Rehak
Published	March 10, 2008
Language	English
Pages	276

Binding	Perfect-bound Paperback
Interior Ink	Black & white
Dimensions (inches)	6.0 wide × 9.0 tall