Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on Netflix (Netflix)

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story was released on Netflix on Thursday (18 September), and the latest instalment of Ryan Murphy’s bloody anthology series is already proving just as provocative as the previous three instalments.

After three seasons exploring the heinous crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer, Ed Gein and the Menendez brothers, season four of the show turns its attentions to Lizzie Borden (played by Ella Beatty), the notorious murder suspect who was acquitted of the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother.

As you might expect from a series from Glee and American Horror Story creator Murphy, queer themes abound in the series, which also stars Sarah Paulson as infamous queer serial killer Eileen Wournos, who murdered seven men between 1989 and 1990 (no, don’t ask us how the show manages to tie these two threads together).

Lizzie Borden herself is portrayed as a lesbian in the series – something that has had many viewers asking whether that was the case in real life. So what was the reality?

Historians have long debated whether Lizzie Borden was a lesbian or otherwise queer.

As you might expect for a woman living in New England in the late 19th century, Borden certainly wouldn’t have been open about her sexuality at the time, meaning historians – as is so often the case with queer history – have had to analyse the few breadcrumbs of information they have.

What they do know is that Borden never married, choosing to live with her sister until her death in 1927 at the age of 66.

Speculation that her unmarried status may have signified something more stem mainly from her reported close relationships with women. Borden became very close with actress Nance O’Neil around 1904, something that sparked society gossip at the time.

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story shows Lizzie having an illicit affair with the Borden family’s maid, Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan. However, there is no historic evidence to suggest the the pair were lovers, and the relationship appears to be largely fictionalised for the purposes of the series.

As with so many queer icons from the distant past, there is unlikely to ever be a definitive answer as to whether Lizzie Borden was a lesbian or not. But it’s worth noting that there’s as little – and possibly less – evidence to suggest she was heterosexual, either.

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is available to watch on Netflix now.

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