Florence Kinrade

With the book Florence Kinrade: Lizzie Borden of the North, Durvile’s True Cases series takes a spin into historical true crime. Florence Kinrade, in 1909, seemed merely the dutiful daughter of a wealthy educator and the fiancé of a parson’s son. At the same time she was leading a double life as a vaudeville artiste and soon became the central figure in a gruesome family murder. By digging deep into contemporary accounts and inquest testimony, Frank Jones’ narrative nonfiction focuses on Florence’s inner life, suppressed emotions, and romantic escapades to contextualize the murder of her sister, Ethel. Jones reveals the challenges of a upper class woman seeking a showbiz career, illuminates the little-known “tramp menace” feared by people of the era, and reveals Florence’s mental diagnoses by famous psychiatrist of the time, C.K. Clarke. Florence Kinrade is a deeply personal and intimate exploration which holds many parallels with the story of Lizzie Borden, another famous murder mystery involving a family murder and a mysterious young woman.