Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter
by Arnold Brown

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Book Reviews of Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter

Book Review: A Very Important Book
Summary: 5 Stars

A R Brown was born and raised in Fall River. He retired to Florida, and met Lewis Peterson (also from Fall River). When the subject of Lizzie Borden came up, Lewis said his father-in-law Henry Hawthorne knew the real killer. Hawthorne's mother-in-law Ellan Eagan passed by the Borden house that morning.

Before Henry Hawthorne died in 1978 he left notebooks filled with his memories of that event. A R Brown read them, then checked those facts for historical verification. His book is the result of his investigation. The "Acknowledgments" list the many people who helped with the book, which provides the "best evidence" for its solution to this famous unsolved mystery.

Little or no documentation is available, as the author stated, for any further proof. He noted that there was a work stoppage, which put pressure on the local establishment to find a solution. The Mellen House Gang would not leave documents for their actions in 1892, as with most current politicians. (We still don't have an official legal solution to the JFK assassination.)

The book "Forty Whacks" provides complementary information on the events of the time. Note the "anonymous" letter from Albany (Joseph Carpenter?) who seemed to know something about the crime. Like today, people may know things but do not wish to get involved with powerful authorities who have their own agenda.

I think there may have been more information left out of the book.

One important but little known fact mentioned in this book is the condition of the blood for a freshly killed body (red and liquid) compared to one dead for over an hour (black and clotted). Think about that in a more recent double murder case.

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