Although I have heard the rhyme, Lizzie Borden Took an Ax…, a thousand times, I have never read anything pertaining to this horrific crime. Then I found this book and the description intrigued me and I wanted to know more. Lizzie was never convicted of this crime, although the evidence strongly supports her guilt. This story looks at all possible suspects and tries to show evidence that someone else could have done it. It shows that there was a steady rift growing between Lizzie and her father and stepmother but it also introduces her sister, the maid, an uncle, and a mentally disturbed gentleman that her uncle hired to do harm, all as suspects.

The author told this story from many different views. It follows Lizzie and what she saw and thought and also gave her reasons for animosity towards her parents. It also does the same for the maid, her sister, and the uncle. We also heard the prospective of the man that her uncle has hired and his background. For me, this made the story harder to follow. I had to go back a few times to insure I knew exactly what was going on.

This story is more for the late teen to adult reader. It is dark and deals with a gruesome subject from the murders to everything that leads up to them. After reading, I was compelled to dig more into facts surrounding the murders, which, in my opinion, is what good historical fiction should induce you to do.

I have requested and received this book for review from NetGalley.

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Lizzie Borden's story continues to fascinate me the world.


This is probably one of the better tellings of her story that I've read. Who cares if this book is fiction? It takes you there..in so many ways.

Way One: The author doesn't just shine a spot light on Lizzie. She takes the time to flesh out all the surrounding characters. You get a feel for the whole household. (And it ain't pretty)

Way Two: I thought the author had an unhealthy obsession with food at first. There are so many descriptions of food in this book that I kept wondering why the heck she was throwing so much in. I did know if they ate that damn mutton soup one more time I was going to take the axe to them my damn self. And the pears.......


Way Three: Everybody in this book had some kind of smell associated with them through out the story. And most of them stunk.

(Yes, I know that hygiene has changed Mr. Troll Ass..so back off before you even start)

Way Four: There are not really any redeemable characters in Lizzie's life. Including herself. I can totally see why SOMEONE took out the old ax.


Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review
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This was such a gritty engrossing read that I kept forgetting I was reading fiction. The author was so adept at inhabiting the minds of Lizzie, Emma, and the others that I felt that this for sure had to be the exact way things happened. There were some nice twists and turns that kept me guessing. The characters were very layered and fascinating. I particularly appreciate the way the author sketched out Lizzie in such a way that, while I didn't like her very much, I still was able to feel sympathy for her. I think any mystery reader or anyone with an interest in the Lizzie Borden case will love this book, as I did.

‘See What I Have Done’ by Sarah Schmidt is based on the true story of Lizzie Borden who was accused of killing her father and stepmother Andrew and Abby Borden in Massachusetts in the late nineteenth century. The case is still well known today with many theories circulating about what actually happened that August day at Fall River in 1892. Schmidt’s take on the story is told through four different voices: Lizzie, her sister Emma, Bridget the family’s Irish maid, and a mysterious stranger named Benjamin. The narrative moves back and forth before and after the murders and as you might expect, the result is fragmented with no real sense of who is the most reliable narrator. There is a lot of tension between the two sisters which heightens the claustrophobic atmosphere. Overall ‘See What I Have Done’ is a sinister tale and deeply unsettling in places but as with a lot of fictionalised true crime, I think those who are interested in the real case might enjoy this book the most.

See What I Have Done, the debut novel by author Sara Schmidt, re-imagines the 1892 murders of Lizzie Borden's father and stepmother. This is a difficult book for me to review, because I found the prose simply astonishing. Schmidt is an incredible writer who makes the characters in the Borden household come alive. She recounts the smells of the home, the gritty feel of dirt in your eyes and the "tick tick" of a mantle clock, until the reader is using all his senses to become immersed in the story.

But the details are brutal. The smells are foul and sour (rotting meat, decaying bodies, fresh vomit). The sights are horrific--Mr. Borden chops the heads off pigeons, and, after the murder, he's found with his eye dangling on his chest. This is not a book for sensitive readers, and the characters are so disturbed, and their lives so twisted, it was difficult for me to finish. I wondered the author was able to sustain such darkness as she wrote.

I wish the author had done more to differentiate the voices. All of them use Schmidt's distinctive, innovative words and phrases--and while they are stunningly good, they tend to make all the characters sound alike.

I recommend this book for readers who are interested in true crime/mysteries/psychological thrillers, but be forewarned: it may be too intense for some, and it will trouble those who hope to find explanations or understanding for the worst acts humans are able to commit.

A totally mesmerizing read of the infamous Lizzie Borden accused of murdering her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts 1892. The story line told by various family members, a drifter and Lizzie herself using their own voices explain the culmination of events leading up to the murders. While Lizzie Borden was acquitted, the author does an excellent job of the possible madness that may have led her to commit this crime while also staying close to the facts of this case. Filled with gruesome details this read also focuses on the strained relationship Lizzie may have had with her family as a possible reason for the murders mentioned during the trial. This was a riveting lesson in history for me, one that I would quite honestly like to continue to read about.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and Sarah Schmidt for this ARC courtesy of NetGalley for an honest opinion of my review.

Lizzie Borden was a fun and interesting person to be the center of a book. I only knew the basics of the Lizzie Borden story to begin with, so I didn't really have many expectations going in. The book jumps through different narrators at different times in the story. That being said, I wish certain elements of the story had been fleshed out more, it felt quite vague at different points.

"See What I Have Done" is a retelling of the Lizzie Borden murder case, with at least four or five perspectives at play (including Lizzie's). It's a compelling read and as a contemplation of the murder case, plants a lot of seeds throughout the text, as it takes on various known suspects--why and who, and what other crimes happened at the Borden house. The reason this gets 3 rather than 5 stars is that the book teases various suspects in a seemingly unnecessary way. (There's at least one character I'd remove altogether, as I don't see his purpose.)

I hate to do this with a book from NetGalley, but I am going to put this book in my DNF pile. I have never done that before, but I have been chipping away at it for several weeks in my spare time and there is nothing to grab me, even at 25% of the way through. It just isn’t for me.
Here are my reasons: I love the way that it was written. The way that the author chooses to portray ideas and characters to you is excellent. I think that the parts that move the book along and make it exciting for readers was missing.
It was hard for me to match the characters actions to their individual narratives in the small part that I read. Lizzy seemed so out of it, timid, shy, unknowing, in the beginning, but so sure of herself and her actions and voice in peoples memories. The sister, there was too much skipping down memory lane for me to be paying attention to what is going on there.
I love to read about the Lizzie Borden murders, so I thought that this would be a must read for me. Maybe I will have to revisit it when I have a little more time.

I did think that the cover was beautiful, and that is what made me want to select this book in the first place.

The author does a good job at making you feel an eerie sense when reading, her descriptions almost put you on edge.

What happens when the creative writing class goes wrong...

I freely admit it – I'm pedantic. There are 171,456 words listed as being current in the Oxford English Dictionary, plus over 40,000 obsolete ones, and I feel that should be enough for most novels without the author feeling the need to create her own, or to use them in 'innovative' ways. So I quivered when, on page 1, Schmidt comes up with 'My heart beat nightmares, gallop, gallop...' When she repeats the sentence 'The clock on the mantel ticked ticked.' three times in the first few pages, it merely annoyed me three times instead of once. When she describes the maid as bringing with her 'the smell of decayed meaty-meat', I seriously considered turning vegetarian.

'...strange feelings popped across my bones', 'My teeth were cold against my teeth', 'I shooed her along, my wrist a flick and crunch', 'Her chest heaved, soft, child-suckled breasts.', 'Her lips parted, a sea.' But the clincher was 'I went to the pail of water by the well, let my hands sink into the cool sip sip...'

Since the book is unaccountably garnering positive reviews, clearly plenty of people like this kind of writing. But not me. Abandoned at 2%, since I can't begin to imagine that the story could possibly compensate for the awfulness of the prose. I shall go off now and have some cakey-cake and a mug of coffee-flavoured sip sip in the hopes of heating up my teeth...

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Grove Atlantic.

There are no words to describe how good this book is. Dark, atmospheric and chilling, this book is an intense read, and one amazing debut. There are so many things I want to say about this book. It’s exquisitely written, the claustrophobic setting, the uncomfortable feelings you get all the way through the story. This is one book that has stuck with me long after I’ve finished reading it, and I’ve recommended it to just about everyone I know.

The novel is based on the real life story of Lizzie Borden, a young women who was accused of murdering her father and step-mother. Her case went to trial but she was acquitted due to lack of evidence. The story mixes the facts of the case with a narrative that switches between before the murders occurred, and the aftermath.

The book differs in point of view between that of Lizzie, her sister Emma, the housemaid Bridget and a stranger named Benjamin. The different perspectives are really fascinating because they give such differing views of the messed up Borden family. Each scene in the book is laced with familial tension, and Schmidt’s writing oozes with a sense of dark heat and atmosphere.

The thing that stands out most is the writing style of this book. Schmidt writes in such a fascinating way, often slightly poetic, every word adds another layer and the readers senses are continually assaulted by the descriptions of the tastes and smells of the Borden household. The story is certainly a vivid one, and it is completely unlike anything I have ever read. I think I read See What I Have Done in maybe two sittings, purely because I was completely sucked into the story.

I knew very little about Lizzie Borden prior to reading this book, bar of course the famous rhyme:

‘Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.’

But after finishing the book I found myself spending a large time googling Lizzie and the case, it’s such a fascinating story. The family being sick the day before the murders, Lizzie’s contradicting story and lack of remorse over the whole thing. Did she murder her father and step-mother? We’ll never know. I loved this book from start to finish. The characters were well constructed and fleshed out, the writing impeccable and the story probably one of the best I have ever read. This is easily my favourite book of 2017. I cannot wait to see what Sarah Schmidt writes next.

I have to admit that I really struggled with this book. The idea behind See What I have Done is brilliant. However...there are repetitive phrases that served no purpose (the mantel ticked ticked). I realize the author was making a point; demonstrating the character's frame of mind. But for me, it was just annoying. I finished the book and thought, "hmm...nothing really happened." I would have preferred the story told was more of what the idea behind the story was.

I so wanted to love this book. The premise sounded very interesting, but in the end I found the story to be choppy and slightly confusing.

I made it about halfway through this book and I just am struggling. I am unable to connect with the authors writing style. I am disappointed because I really thought this was a interesting topic and was looking forward to reading it.

The book was off to a great start, but as the story progresses, it gets a bit confusing. Or at least it did for me. I didn’t particularly enjoy the narrative. It’s told from multiple points of views, which can make for a really great read. However, this fell short of spectacular. There was too much dialogue and it felt like all the characters were told in the same voice.

Where I found myself confused was when the story kept going back and forth between the present and the past. Whenever a character started to reminisce about their past and got lost in their thoughts, I too was lost and found myself having to backtrack.

Unfortunately, I did not want to waste anymore time and did not bother finishing it.

I have seen shows about Lizzie Borden, but have never read anything about her and what happened to her family. This book tells that story and also shows the relationships between the characters of Lizzie, Emma, Bridget and Benjamin. This book looks into the minds of the characters, but didn’t really tell what led them to the tragic conclusion. This was a very hard story to get into.

See What I Have Done is a retelling of the Lizzie Borden case. I'm sure you remember the morbid little rhyme we all innocently chanted as kids. The book takes you through the murders through the eyes of multiple people involved and the aftermath.

It's not that I didn't enjoy this book. It had everything in it that I like: multiple POVs, an intriguing murder-mystery (albeit, the "mystery" was a bit of a stretch, but you get the gist), and well-rounded characters. I'm just generally not a fan of historical fiction--but I took a leap because the premise of this sounded so interesting. It fell flat for me, but I don't think in any way it was the fault of the author. Or even the story for that matter. Just not for me, unfortunately.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read.

Australian author Sarah Schmidt’s debut is a clever, gritty, vision of one of the most infamous unsolved crimes of history, beginning on the morning of the murder, when Lizzie calls the maid, telling her:

“Someone’s killed Father”.

These things are true:

Lizzie Borden was born 19 July 1860 in Fall River, Massachusetts, she lived and died in that same town. Lizzie Andrew Borden, her full name, was tried and acquitted in 1892 for the murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts, the location of the murders was the home that they shared. The main characters in ”See What I Have Done” were the actual people in and out of the home, Lizzie’s older sister, Emma, her father Andrew, her stepmother Abby, Bridget is the maid, whose only dream is to return to her family in Ireland. John, Emma and Lizzie’s Uncle who is their mother’s – the first Mrs. Borden - brother.

Schmidt excels at making you want to really understand Lizzie Borden, get under her skin, making you want to figure out who she is, and if she’s done what the famous folk rhyme says she’s done, showing you so many possible diverse sides to this story.

For those of you who didn’t skip rope to this chant:

Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

Yes, really. Up there with “Ring around the Rosie” and it’s rumoured background of it being about the Plague.

Told from different perspectives – Schmidt delivers a rather cryptic, strange, and disturbed peek into the thoughts of Lizzie, but no one is left to appear innocent. While the act itself is a fact, there remains the obvious who-done-it question.

The narrators include Emma and Lizzie, daughters of Sarah Anthony (Morse) Borden, the first Mrs. Borden, Bridget, the (Irish) family maid, and Benjamin, a man hired by Uncle John, an “outsider.”

A wonderful debut novel, this is a captivating, spellbinding and, at times, unsettling read. For me, exceptionally disquieting moments were when I was reading Lizzie’s thoughts, dark and disturbed one moment and filled with a childlike admiration and love the next – but always relayed in this childlike voice, as though she’s forever trapped in childhood. Lizzie is also a fairly fragmented, unreliable narrator, but then again, I wasn’t counting on her for an accurate retelling. Emma has her own unique view on life and her desire to shield of Lizzie, Lizzie was so young when their mother died and Emma feels responsible for Lizzie. Bridget stands out as voice of reason, contributing her the “behind the scenes” portrait of this uniquely different household in her levelheaded way, but as a maid her voice is quieted to almost a whisper. Benjamin has more than enough troubles of his own and Uncle John owes him, but he fills in his views.

I’m not sure how one would write a novel on this without including some gruesome details, but all things considered they are fairly minimal – although I would caution against eating while reading this for those with sensitive tummies. For those disturbed by this dark tale, I would recommend a dose of the Chad Mitchell Trio’s “Lizzie Borden” which I believe is only found on YouTube (unless you happen to have an old 45 of this), a much lighter take on Lizzie’s tale … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wlO-... which I found only because I was curious if there was ever a song in addition to the folk rhyme chant.

Recommended – with a cautionary twist

Pub Date: 01 Aug 2017


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Grove Atlantic / Atlantic Monthly Press