History Literature / TheBordenDispatches

'''''The Borden Dispatches''''' are a series of horror novels by [[Literature/ClockworkCentury Cherie Priest]], blending historical fact and Lovecraftian fiction.

* TriangRelations: Lizbeth finds herself in a type 7a triangle (that slowly transforms into a [[spoiler:type 5]]), caught between her romantic relationship with Nance and having to care for her sick sister. As the problem escalates, [[spoiler:she gradually comes to value the former over the latter... and, in a bitter irony, loses Nance to the GreaterScopeVillain, while estranging herself from Emma, as well]].

%%* AnAxeToGrind

* TriangRelations: Lizbeth finds herself in a type 7a triangle (that slowly transforms into a [[spoiler:type 5]]), caught between her romantic relationship with Nance and having to care for her sick sister. As the problem escalates, [[spoiler:she gradually comes to value the former over the latter... and, in a bitter irony, loses Nance to the BiggerBad, while estranging herself from Emma, as well]].

* ActionGirl: Lizbeth, of course.
* AgentMulder: Inspector Wolf.

* AnAxeToGrind

* AxCrazy. Zollicoffer.
* BiggerBad: Implied. [[spoiler:Apparently, some eldritch creature resides off the coast of Massachusetts in the Atlantic and is able to corrupt humans who live near the shore or come into contact with one of its artifacts--the sea-glass, like the one Lizbeth's stepmother wore as a necklace. It is also what creates and directs the Deep Ones, and the "jelly" that the Bordens found and sent to Dr. Zollicoffer seems to be either its servant or a part of its physical body. Zollicoffer himself comes to believe that it is female and to call it "the Mother".]]

* EldritchAbomination: See BiggerBad.

* TheIngenue: Nance O'Neil.
* LipstickLesbian: Lizbeth and Nance.

* StatuesqueStunner: Nance.

* ''Chapelwood'' (forthcoming 2015)

* BiggerBad: Implied.

* WeaksauceWeakness: It turns out the fish-men are vulnerable to [[spoiler:tetanus.]]

'''April, 1894:''' Lizzie Andrew Borden -- yes, ''that'' Lizzie Borden -- and her older sister Emma have purchased a rambling house near the sea called Maplecroft in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts. The sisters are shunned by the townsfolk, despite Lizzie's acquittal in the axe murders of their father and stepmother. As it turns out, Lizzie -- or Lizbeth, as she prefers -- ''did'' take an axe to Andrew Jackson Borden and Abigail Borden, but that's only half the story. A week before the murders, a sickness swept through the Borden household, slowly transforming Lizbeth's parents into flabby, waterlogged ''things'' without a trace of their former humanity.

* BittersweetEnding: ''Maplecroft'' comes about a hair's breadth away from pulling a full-on DownerEnding. [[spoiler:Lizbeth is stuck in a HeroicBSOD as a result of her failure to save Nance. Nance is fully aquatic and answers the call of the sea, presumably never to return. Dr. Seabury has gone insane. Emma leaves Maplecroft, mutual bitterness and resent leaving her estranged from her sister, and her consumption has never been worse. And the elder god implied to be behind it all is still somewhere out there in the ocean, biding its time. All of this makes for a clear SequelHook, however, and we may see fortunes turn yet, as Zollicoffer's killing spree has been ended and Inspector Wolf might prove a future ally.]]

'''''The Borden Dispatches''''' are a series of horror novels by [[Literature/ClockworkCentury Cherie Priest]], blending historical fact and Lovecraftian Fiction.

* OccultDetective: Agent Wolf seems to be one. The ending implies that he [[spoiler:works for an entire organization dedicated to investigating unusual cases.]]

* TheSpook: Agent Wolf. No one knows ''anything'' about him, other than that he's "from Boston." At least he's an apparently benevolent spook.

* ShownTheirWork: Priest clearly did some research into Lizzie Borden's life and the circumstances surrounding the murders, including lesser-known events such as the violent illness that overtook the Bordens in the week preceding their deaths and Lizzie's close friendship (which was the subject of much gossip) with Nance O'Neil into the narrative.

* SequelHook: Many are set up in the final chapter.

'''April, 1894:''' Lizbeth Andrew Borden -- yes, ''that'' Lizzie Borden -- and her older sister Emma have purchased a rambling house near the sea called Maplecroft in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts. The sisters are shunned by the townsfolk, despite Lizzie's acquittal in the axe murders of their father and stepmother. As it turns out, Lizzie -- or Lizbeth, as she prefers -- ''did'' take an axe to Andrew Jackson Borden and Abigail Borden, but that's only half the story. A week before the murders, a sickness swept through the Borden household, slowly transforming Lizbeth's parents into flabby, waterlogged ''things'' without a trace of their former humanity.

* ''Maplecroft'' (September 2014)

* BittersweetEnding: ''Maplecroft'' comes about a hair's breadth away from pulling a full-on DownerEnding. [[spoiler:Lizbeth is stuck in a HeroicBSOD as a result of her failure to save Nance. Nance is fully aquatic and answers the call of the sea, presumably never to return. Dr. Seabury has gone insane. Emma leaves Maplecroft, mutual bitterness and resent leaving her estranged from her sister, and her consumption has never been worse. And the elder god implied to be behind it all is still somewhere out there in the ocean, biding its time. All of this makes for a clear SequelHook, however, and we may see fortunes turn yet, as Zollicoffer's killing spree has been ended and Inspector Wolf may prove a future ally.]]

* FishPeople

* NobleBigot: Dr. Owen Seabury is a steadfast ally of the Bordens, but he's casually sexist and disapproves of Lizbeth and Nance's relationship.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler: Though the sickness may have already taken root in Fall River, Emma may have made things ''much'' worse by sending the sea jelly specimen to Dr. Zollicoffer.]]

'''March, 1893:''' Phillip Zolicoffer, professor of marine biology at Miskatonic University, receives an unusual specimen of sea jelly from the renowned but reclusive Dr. E.A. Jackson. Zollicoffer becomes obsessed with the specimen, his sanity quickly eroding until he is driven to an unspeakable act of bloody murder....

* BittersweetEnding: ''Maplecroft'' comes about a hair's breadth away from pulling a full-on DownerEnding. [[spoiler:Lizbeth is stuck in a HeroicBSOD as a result of her failure to save Nance. Nance is fully aquatic and answers the call of the sea, presumably never to return. Dr. Seabury has gone insane. Emma leaves Maplecroft, mutual bitterness and resent leaving her estranged from her sister, and her consumption has never been worse. And the elder god implied to be behind it all is still somewhere out there in the ocean, biding its time. All of this makes for a clear SequelHook, however, and we may see fortunes turn yet, as Zolicoffer's killing spree has been ended and Inspector Wolf may prove a future ally.]]

* LipstickLesbian: Lizbeth and Nace.

* SanitySlippage: Dr. Zolicoffer's slips quickly as a result of his contact with the specimen. [[spoiler:Dr. Seabury's goes more slowly as the result of simple obsession with the problems in Fall River.

'''''The Borden Dispatches''''' are a series of horror novels by Creator/CheriePriest, blending historical fact and Lovecraftian Fiction.

'''April, 1894:''' Lizbeth Andrew Borden -- yes, ''that'' Lizzie Borden -- and her older sister Emma have purchased a rambling house called Maplecroft in the small town of River Falls, Massachusetts. The sisters are shunned by the townsfolk, despite Lizzie's acquittal in the axe murders of their father and stepmother. As it turns out, Lizzie -- or Lizbeth, as she prefers -- ''did'' take an axe to Andrew Jackson Borden and Abigail Borden, but that's only half the story. A week before the murders, a sickness swept through the Borden household, slowly transforming Lizbeth's parents into flabby, waterlogged ''things'' without a trace of their former humanity.

!!This book series provides examples of the following tropes: