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'When her father and step-mother are found brutally murdered on a summer morning in 1892, Lizzie Borden - thirty two years old and still living at home - immediately becomes a suspect. But after a notorious trial, she is found innocent, and no one is ever convicted of the crime.
'Meanwhile, others in the claustrophobic Borden household have their own motives and their own stories to tell: Lizzie's unmarried older sister, a put-upon Irish housemaid, and a boy hired by Lizzie's uncle to take care of a problem.
'This unforgettable debut makes you question the truth behind one of the great unsolved mysteries, as well as exploring power, violence and the harsh realities of being a woman in late nineteenth century America.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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Dedication: For Cody. And for Alan and Rose who left before I could finish.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also large print.
- Also dyslexic edition
Works about this Work
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Forty Whacks: See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
2017
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , November 2017;'My daughter is eight years old and has started to ignore us when she is reading. ‘Time to brush your teeth!’ No answer. ‘Can you put your PJs on?’ Nothing. ‘Just to the end of the chapter, OK?’ We give up and close the door. We don’t push her because we know what she has found: an experience that is independent of her family and school, and an absorption that belongs only to her. Soon enough she’ll have plenty such experiences, and will make her own decisions about how large a part we, her family, play in her life. Sarah Schmidt’s See What I Have Done takes an interesting stance on the question of women’s agency. It is about a woman who is, in many ways, terrible and strange, but it positions her within the context of a number of grown women who struggle to have experiences they can call their own, and for whom the family seems inescapable. This in itself is nothing new: a whole genre of contemporary fiction set in the nineteenth century deals with the straightjacket of Victorian gender norms and family structures. Nor is it new to reimagine the case of Lizzie Borden, accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe in Massachusetts in 1892.' (Introduction)
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Forty Whacks?
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The New York Times Book Review , 27 August 2017; (p. 12)'The facts of the notorious case described by Sarah Schmidt in “See What I Have Done” are as follows. One sweltering day in August 1892, the father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden of Fall River, Mass., were hacked to death in their home. Lizzie Borden stood trial for the murders and was acquitted. Doubt has been cast on that verdict ever since.' (Introduction)
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See What I Have Done By Sarah Schmidt
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 22 April 2017; (p. 21) 'On the morning of August 4, 1892, Bridget Sullivan, maid to the wealthy Borden family of Fall River, Massachusetts, was summoned by Lizzie, at 22 the younger of the two Borden daughters. “Come quick! Father’s dead,” she cried. “Somebody came in and killed him.” On reaching the sitting room she discovered Lizzie’s father, Andrew Borden, slumped on a sofa, his head shattered by close to a dozen blows to his face with a hatchet, one of which had split his eyeball. He was still bleeding.' (Introduction) -
'See What I Have Done' by Sarah Schmidt
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 391 2017; 'In this gripping first novel, Sarah Schmidt re-imagines the lives of Lizzie Borden, her family, and the brutal double murder of her father and stepmother, for which Lizzie became notorious. Set in and around the Borden’s house at Fall River, Massachusetts, the narrative has a dense, claustrophobic air that feeds the portrayal of this family as menacingly close.' (Introduction) -
Crime Scene: Sarah Schmidt : See What I Have Done.
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , May 2017; 'This fictional rendition of a true crime by Sarah Schmidt is full of brilliant and off-kilter imagery that reinforces the unsettling mood of the novel.'
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Crime Scene: Sarah Schmidt : See What I Have Done.
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , May 2017; 'This fictional rendition of a true crime by Sarah Schmidt is full of brilliant and off-kilter imagery that reinforces the unsettling mood of the novel.' -
'See What I Have Done' by Sarah Schmidt
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 391 2017; 'In this gripping first novel, Sarah Schmidt re-imagines the lives of Lizzie Borden, her family, and the brutal double murder of her father and stepmother, for which Lizzie became notorious. Set in and around the Borden’s house at Fall River, Massachusetts, the narrative has a dense, claustrophobic air that feeds the portrayal of this family as menacingly close.' (Introduction) -
See What I Have Done By Sarah Schmidt
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 22 April 2017; (p. 21) 'On the morning of August 4, 1892, Bridget Sullivan, maid to the wealthy Borden family of Fall River, Massachusetts, was summoned by Lizzie, at 22 the younger of the two Borden daughters. “Come quick! Father’s dead,” she cried. “Somebody came in and killed him.” On reaching the sitting room she discovered Lizzie’s father, Andrew Borden, slumped on a sofa, his head shattered by close to a dozen blows to his face with a hatchet, one of which had split his eyeball. He was still bleeding.' (Introduction) -
Forty Whacks?
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The New York Times Book Review , 27 August 2017; (p. 12)'The facts of the notorious case described by Sarah Schmidt in “See What I Have Done” are as follows. One sweltering day in August 1892, the father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden of Fall River, Mass., were hacked to death in their home. Lizzie Borden stood trial for the murders and was acquitted. Doubt has been cast on that verdict ever since.' (Introduction)
-
Forty Whacks: See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
2017
single work
review
essay
— Appears in: Sydney Review of Books , November 2017;'My daughter is eight years old and has started to ignore us when she is reading. ‘Time to brush your teeth!’ No answer. ‘Can you put your PJs on?’ Nothing. ‘Just to the end of the chapter, OK?’ We give up and close the door. We don’t push her because we know what she has found: an experience that is independent of her family and school, and an absorption that belongs only to her. Soon enough she’ll have plenty such experiences, and will make her own decisions about how large a part we, her family, play in her life. Sarah Schmidt’s See What I Have Done takes an interesting stance on the question of women’s agency. It is about a woman who is, in many ways, terrible and strange, but it positions her within the context of a number of grown women who struggle to have experiences they can call their own, and for whom the family seems inescapable. This in itself is nothing new: a whole genre of contemporary fiction set in the nineteenth century deals with the straightjacket of Victorian gender norms and family structures. Nor is it new to reimagine the case of Lizzie Borden, accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe in Massachusetts in 1892.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2019 longlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
- 2018 longlisted Davitt Award — Best Adult Crime Novel
- 2018 shortlisted Davitt Award — Best Debut
- 2018 shortlisted Ned Kelly Awards for Crime Writing — Best First Novel
- 2018 longlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) — The Matt Richell Award for New Writer