Jack The Ripper

by Mark Whitehead

  Ripper Haunts

  A visit to the True Crime section of your nearest first- or second-hand bookshop cannot fail to yield many books about saucy Jack, but below we list a bloody few to whet your appetite.

  History/Sourcebooks

  The following titles cannot be underestimated in their importance in accurately chronicling the Ripper case. However, even here, variations can occur and the dedicated Ripper reader will want to compare:

  Sugden, Philip, The Complete History of Jack the Ripper, London: Robinson, 1995, Paperback, 542 pages, £8.99, ISBN 1854874160.

  The definitive book on Jack the Ripper, no argument. Every single detail of the murders, the victims and the investiga­tion has been meticulously researched and presented in an extremely readable form. Although Sugden leans slightly towards George Chapman as a suspect, he resists any attempt at a final solution. Highly recommended.

  Rumbelow, Donald, The Complete Jack the Ripper, London: Penguin, 1988, Paperback, 310 pages, £8.99, ISBN 0140173951.

  For those in slightly more of a hurry, ex-copper Rumbelow’s book is the thing. A well-presented overview of the case that, once again, resists the temptation to speculate. Rumbelow also works as master of ceremonies on the best of the Ripper Walks.

  Evans, Stewart P and Skinner, Keith (eds), The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, London: Robinson, 2000, Hardback, 692 pages, £25, ISBN 1841192252.

  A necessary purchase for any budding Ripperologist, Evans and Skinner have compiled the definitive reference book on the Ripper crimes. It contains all Home Office and Scotland Yard files on the case, plus available inquest transcripts. There are also reproductions of the first Ripper letters, the Macnaghten Memoranda et al. The truth is in here, some­where...

  Begg, Paul, Fido, Martin and Skinner, Keith, The Jack the Ripper A-Z, London: Headline, 1996, Paperback, 522 pages, £8.99, ISBN 0747255229.

  Another reference work without which the Ripperologist would be nothing. Despite some factual errors (which encourage you to do your own research – go on), this is an exhaustively compiled volume containing information on every aspect and person involved in the case.

  Evans, Stewart and Skinner, Keith, Jack the Ripper: Letters from Hell, Stroud: Sutton, 2004, Paperback, 306 pages, £12.99, ISBN 075093770X.

  This excellently-produced volume provides transcripts and reproductions of many of the missives that bombarded press and police during and since the crimes. So did Sickert write them all?

  Begg, Paul, Jack the Ripper:The Facts, London: Robson, 2006, Paperback, 560 pages, £8.99, ISBN: 1861058705.

  As well-referenced as Begg’s previous Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, The Facts contains less social history but far more exhaustive detail about the case. The choice between this and the Sugden is really down to personal preference.

  Curtis, L Perry, Jack the Ripper and the London Press,Yale:Yale University Press, 2001, Hardback, 320 pages, £25.00, ISBN 0300088728.

  Interesting study of the press’s relationship with the Ripper crimes. A little dry in places with an occasionally faltering argument but full marks for a different approach.

  Bibliographies

  Both of the following contain exhaustive listings of the vast range of factual and fictional titles available:

  Kelly, Alexander and Sharp, David, Jack the Ripper: A Bibliography and Review of the Literature, London: Association of Assistant Librarians, 1994, Paperback, 176 pages, £6, ISBN 0900092904.

  Strachan, Ross, The Jack the Ripper Handbook: A Reader’s Companion, UK: Great Scot Services, 1999, Paperback, 188 pages, £12, ISBN 0953694909.

  Fiction

  The following are worth tracking down for excellent spec­ulative explorations of the Ripper case.While the first is out of print, the other two should be easier to get hold of.

  Parry, Michel (ed), Jack the Knife: Tales of Jack the Ripper, London: Mayflower, 1975, Paperback, 160 pages, 50p, ISBN 583125026. Contains stories by Joseph F Pumilia, Hume Nisbet, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Anon, Anthony Boucher, R Chetwynd-Hayes, Philip José Farmer, Robert Bloch, Ramsey Campbell and Harlan Ellison (nb: between two anthologies called Jack the Ripper [1988, Futura Books, edited by Gardner Dozis and Susan Casper and 2004, i-books, edited by Martin Greenburg] most of Jack the Knife’s stories are reprinted.)

  Geary, Rick, A Treasury of Victorian Murder: Jack the Ripper, US: NBM Publishing, 1995, Hardback, 64 pages, $15.95, ISBN 1561631248

  Moore, Alan and Campbell, Eddie, From Hell, UK: Knockabout Comics, 2000, Paperback, 576 pages, £24.99, ISBN: 0861661419

  The Whitechapel Web

  It’ll come as no surprise that there are quite a few websites covering the Ripper’s crimes. Of these, those most worth a visit are:

  www.casebook.org ‘The Daddy’. Easily the best Ripper site, this has sections

  devoted to the victims, suspects, press reports etc. Nicely

  laid out with special ‘dissertations’ on various aspects of the

  case, any budding Ripperologist should make this their first

  net stop.

  www.accomodata.co.uk/jack.htm

  Subtly illustrated pages with the basics of the case summarised,

  this site makes a good Ripper digest for the curious.

  www.hollywoodripper.com

  The ideal site if you want to find out more about Jack’s cel­luloid outings. Plenty of trivia and posters liven up the site,and there’s even a PDF of The Curse Upon Mitre Square (1888) – a nice touch.

  Jack’s Little Friends

  Ripperana is a quarterly magazine, edited by Nick Warren, which covers many aspects of true crime but focuses partic­ularly on Jack, including new titbits and theories surround­ing the case. Subscriptions £6 (UK), $15 (US) per year, payable by cheques (UK: payable to NP Warren), or cur­rency (US) to: 16 Copperfield Way, Pinner, HA5 5RY.

  London Walks’ Jack the Ripper Haunts is the original and definitely the best Ripper walk. It starts every night from Tower Hill Underground Station at 7.30pm (and Saturday afternoons at 3.00pm). Your host for Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and alternate Fridays is usually author Donald Rumbelow. £5 charge (£3.50 for senior citizens and stu­dents, under 15s free with an adult). Call 0207 624 3978 for more info.

  For those with a really strong stomach, try the impres­sively accurate Jack the Ripper Experience at The London Dungeon, Tooley Street, London, SE1. It’s open 10am-5.30pm (5pm in winter) every day of the year. Entry fee: £10.95 (adults), £9.50 (students), £6.50 (kids under 14 and senior citizens).

  Related Materials

  The following titles concern cases of interest to Ripper enthusiasts and are worth reading in their own right:

  Bondeson, Jan, The London Monster – A Sanguinary Tale, London: Free Association Books, 2000, Paperback, 256 pages, £8.99, ISBN 1853435260.

  ‘Springheeled Jack: To Victorian Bugaboo from Suburban Ghost’ by Mike Dash, in Moore, Steve (ed), Fortean Studies, Volume 3, UK: John Brown Publishing, 1996, Paperback, 384 pages, £19.99, ISBN 1870870824.

  Goss, Mike, The Halifax Slasher:An Urban Terror in the North of England, UK: Fortean Times Occasional Paper No 3, 1987, Paperback, 56 pages, £2.50, ISSN 02605856.

  James, PD and Critchley, TA, The Maul and the Pear Tree:The Ratcliffe Highway Murders, 1811, London: Faber and Faber, 2000, Paperback, 274 pages, £8.99, ISBN: 0571202829.