The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion - Hardcover

Stewart P. Evans; Keith Skinner

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786707682 ISBN 13: 9780786707683

Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub, 2000

Synopsis

A reference to one of the great unsolved murder sprees in history examines the events in London in the 1880s when a string of prostitute murders paralyzed the country and shocked the world.

About this title

Review:

The next best thing to squatting amid Scotland Yard's dusty files yourself, this collection of police and autopsy reports, witness statements, letters, newspaper stories, and sometimes gory photos presents the primary sources without interpretation. This reference guide wasn't written for conspiracy seekers. Its extensive 650-plus pages are refreshingly free of wild-eyed speculation about the Ripper's identity, whether it be within the royal family, London's medical community, or the many other places would-be detectives have plucked suspects from for the last hundred years. The theories are left up to the reader, who is presented with practically every raw fact--some of it downright minutia--surrounding the "Whitechapel horrors," a string of prostitute murders that continue to fascinate due to the bizarre sexual mutilations involved and the seamy setting of that era's East End, a labyrinth of dark, winding streets and extreme poverty.

The writers, both historical advisors on Jack the Ripper, present each original source with a brief introduction. There are even files, reports, and news clippings connected to other prostitute slayings between 1888 to 1891 that, over time, have been attributed mistakenly to the Ripper. And there are documents that should put some suspicions to rest. In a letter written by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Charles Warren, the reader learns that anti-Semitic graffiti that might have come from the killer was quickly destroyed because Warren feared a riot if London crowds read the message. (The police bungling fueled accusations of a government cover-up since the chalk writing was destroyed before it could be photographed.) The helpful appendix includes a chronology of events, as well as short autobiographical notes on key Ripper investigators. The absence of literary interpretation makes cover-to-cover reading difficult, but as a source book this guide could become indispensable for students of the Ripper, whether they be serious scholars or simple hobbyists. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

From Booklist:

Attempting to demythologize a case that has intrigued and baffled historians and criminologists for more than a century, the editors have compiled an exhaustive compendium of primary and secondary source material pertaining to the infamous Whitechapel murders. Between 1888 and 1891, 11 prostitutes were brutally murdered in the East End of London, prompting Scotland Yard to undertake a grueling investigative inquiry. Now, for the first time, all of the available police files, press reports, witness statements, and court inquests related to each of these homicides are assembled in chronological order, providing a comprehensive overview of the crimes that were subsequently attributed to the legendary Jack the Ripper. Unlike most Ripper reconstructions, this straightforward, factual history is unclouded by often confusing and contradictory contemporary conclusions and interpretations. An invaluable resource for true crime buffs. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0786707682
• ISBN 13: 9780786707683
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 692