The article explores the historical context of true crime in Fall River, Massachusetts, including the infamous Lizzie Borden case while introducing the earlier murder trial of minister Ephraim Avery, accused of murdering Sarah Maria Cornell. True crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson shares insights from her new book about the case, highlighting Cornell's letters and her circumstances as a female factory worker in the 1830s, as well as societal gender imbalances during that era. These events capture the cultural and historical issues surrounding women’s rights and economic independence.
"I was really drawn in when I read the letters that she wrote her family. And then, of course, there's this ominous note that she wrote and she locked in a trunk."
"It was cheap, reliable labor for the factory owners, because you don't have men who are drinking and carousing around... Please come work for us, you'll have some financial independence."
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