Robert Sullivan makes a strong case that Lizzie Borden might have gotten off, even if she committed the crime. Oddly enough for a judge, he confuses this with proving that she did commit it. Sullivan starts off with the assumption that she was guilty, briskly rejects any other possibilities, and lo and behold, he finds her to be guilty.

I would recommend this book to anyone with a strong interest in the case. It has all sorts of information that is not included elsewhere about a similar crime that could have thrown off suspicion, the backgrounds of the jurors, etc.

Sullivan simply rejects the idea that anyone else could have done it. The suggestion that it might have be Bridget Sullivan is quickly dismissed without examinaton: "Bridget didn't do it."

I feel informed, but not at all convinced. I recommend Kent's Forty Whacks as the best book that I have ever read on the subject, and Edgar Radin's Lizzie Borden as the second. ( )

1435 Goodbye Lizzie Borden, by Robert Sullivan (read 27 Feb 1977) This is a book written by a Massachusetts judge. Back in 1955 I read a paperback called The Girl in the House of Hate. In 1962 I reread that book and a book called Lizzie Borden: The Untold Story. Neither book is mentioned in this book's bibliography. I think Lizzie Borden: The Untold Story claimed Bridget (the maid) did it, but I may be wrong. But this book is so anti-Lizzie that I found myself defending her! I agree the judge's charge was slanted in Lizzie's favor. But I am not at all certain she did it. The lack of bloody clothing puzzles me a bit more than it does Judge Sullivan. O, I believe she did it, but I don't think it is impossible she didn't. ( )