Sweet Madness

July 15, 2015
Interest in Lizzie Borden, tried and acquitted in the brutal 1892 murder of her father and stepmother, has never flagged; this fictional retelling depicts the unsolved crime from the perspective of the family's live-in, Irish-immigrant maid, Bridget Sullivan.Andrew Borden rules his household through tightfisted micromanagement and intimidation; his second wife, Abigail, passive and reclusive, communicates via written lists; Emma, Lizzie's older sister, is seldom home. Lizzie, lonely, unstable, and combative, has attached herself to Bridget, following her when she leaves the house. Bridget's grateful for her friendship and help with chores, but she finds Lizzie's sleepwalking, spying, and screaming matches with her father deeply upsetting. Bridget's fiance, Liam, wants her to quit, but she's reluctant to leave a well-paid job. Lizzie reminds Bridget of her mentally disabled sister, Cara, for whose condition she feels responsible. While the portrait of the claustrophobic, creepy Borden household and its denizens, Lizzie especially, is grippingly vivid, Bridget herself is problematic. As a domestic, she's less than credible. Her contemporary vocabulary full of breezy colloquialisms ("I didn't buy it" (expressing skepticism); "you owe me"; "I'd stashed it") bears little resemblance to the real Bridget's plain speech (well-documented in trial transcripts). Lizzie holds the power in this unequal relationship; her inconsistent, abusive treatment renders Bridget's tolerant affection puzzling and its rationale weak. Read it for the suspenseful plot, but look elsewhere for the facts. (Historical fiction. 13-17)

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August 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-The disturbing tale of murderess Lizzie Borden is told through the viewpoint of her family's fictional Irish immigrant maid, Bridget Sullivan. Many aspects of the well-to-do Borden family make the household unusual; the lack of electricity, their clothing, limited interaction with their community, and constant gossip about Lizzie's behavior set them apart from other families of their station. Although the family is not cruel to Bridget, the fact that Mrs. Borden rarely speaks to her and the constant fighting between Lizzie and her father make her arrangement truly onerous. While Bridget is sympathetic to Lizzie's agony over her home life, Mr. Borden's cruelty and Lizzie's growing paranoia cause her to seek new employment, but not before being a partial witness to the Borden murders. While viewing the Borden family through the eyes of their servant offers a unique perspective, the characterization of Bridget Sullivan is serviceable but not memorable. The protagonist's relationships with her fiance and Lizzie are superficially drawn; there is little depth to any character. Details of Mr. Borden's murder by Lizzie are brief yet chilling, while the description of the condition of Mrs. Borden's corpse is more gruesome and extensive. Unfortunately, readers have no information about the extent to which the authors fictionalized events. VERDICT A promising premise that falls flat.-Jennifer Schultz, Fauquier County Public Library, Warrenton, VA

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