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Title: Interesting idea, but the author gets so much so wrong
Review: The most interesting thing about "Semblance of Balance" is the up-close view of a servant's life in the early 20th century. As for the more sensational material concerning Leopold and Loeb, the author gets nearly everything wrong--the nature of the relationship of the disturbed teenagers, their personalities, their motivations. I gave it two stars because I actually enjoyed the view of Elizabeth's life (the "upstairs maid"), and her experiences as a recent immigrant in America. Otherwise, I'd give it one star. It's as if Neilson did little research into the lives and characters of the two young murderers, and just imposed his own characterizations and ideas. Being the descendent of Elizabeth Sattler (the afore-mentioned upstairs maid) doesn't give the author the right to distort history.
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