This is fascinating reading if you’re familiar with the case. To get the best understanding, knowledge of the floorplan of the house is essential. What I found most interesting is that we get Lizzie Borden’s testimony--something that is difficult to find in most writings on the subject. It is a very unique view, because Lizzie did not testify at the trial, and the official inquiry is lost to history. This is all we have of Lizzie’s view of the “affair” (as she called it).
I found Prosecutor Hosea M. Knowlton’s questions to be a little confusing myself, so I can understand why Lizzie seemed confused at times. Of course, he was trying to trip her up at times, but if she was lying, it certainly wasn’t apparent in her answers. All I saw was a woman confused at what he was asking. She became irritable at times, but not overly so. One has to remember that this inquiry took place just five days after the murder of her father and stepmother. If she was innocent, it had to be a terrible ordeal. If she actually did the murders, I would think she would have presented a more fluent memory of her movements on the day of the murders. Some of the things she said she did that morning seemed very strange, but was that because she was hiding something, or was it because she was just an odd duck?
I would love to know what other readers think. As of this writing, there is only one other review of this inquiry.