Full Breakdown
Netflix’s “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” Brings a 19th-Century Murder Mystery to a Modern Audience
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
Netflix released the eight-episode season “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” on 17 September 2026.
Historical Background
In August 1892, Andrew Borden and his second wife Abby were killed with a hatchet in their home. Their daughter Lizzie, then 32, and the Irish maid Bridget Sullivan were the only other occupants. Police found Andrew on the living-room sofa after 11 blows; Abby had been attacked earlier. A subsequent inquest noted Lizzie’s inconsistent statements about her movements that morning. A local pharmacist reported that Lizzie had attempted to purchase poisonous prussic acid the day before the murders, leading to her arrest and jail — though that evidence was later ruled inadmissible. The all-male jury acquitted her after brief deliberation, and no one else was ever tried.
Themes Explored: Female Rage and Societal Constraints
The series shifts from earlier Monster seasons that focused on male serial killers to a narrative centered on “female rage” and the social restrictions imposed on women in the late-19th century. By portraying Lizzie’s relationship with maid Bridget Sullivan, the show suggests an intimate bond that offers a lens on desire as an “escape” from oppressive domestic conditions. The inclusion of Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos creates a thematic bridge between historical and contemporary women whose crimes entered public mythology, underscoring the rarity of female-perpetrated homicide while probing the circumstances that might trigger it.
Reception and Critical Observations
Reviewers note the series’ lavish production and graphic violence, praising Rebecca Hall’s heightened performance as stepmother Abby and Charlie Hunnam’s portrayal of the “cold authority” of Andrew. However, some critics argue that the show’s “excess” can overwhelm its psychological nuance, and that the insertion of Wuornos sometimes feels “imposed rather than organically emerging.”
Conflicting Reports & Gaps in the Historical Record
The popular nursery rhyme misstates both the weapon (calling it an axe rather than a hatchet) and the number of blows (claiming 40 and 41). Contemporary accounts confirm the murders were carried out with a small hatchet, and that Abby was attacked first, followed by Andrew more than an hour later. The lack of a recovered weapon and the inadmissibility of the attempted poison purchase leave the case fundamentally circumstantial, contributing to the enduring “open-ended” fascination noted by historians.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I knew that she was this sort of almost mythological figure in American history, and I knew the nursery rhyme,” — Rebecca Hall, an English actor
- “You’re essentially treated like a piece of property, and your best role is to get married off and have as many kids as possible,” — Max Winkler, for director
- “She presented herself as a helpless maiden,” — Joseph Conforti, historian
- “Every image reminds you that Lizzie's world is overheated, literally stinking, and emotionally stultifying,” — Celeste Ng, author
Why It Matters
By re-imagining a historic unsolved crime through a gendered lens, the series invites viewers to reconsider how societal expectations shape narratives of violence. It also demonstrates the evolving scope of true-crime dramatizations, moving beyond “monster-made-or-born” debates toward an exploration of how “female rage” can be framed within both past and present cultural contexts.