Customer Reviews

Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia

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Does the world really need yet another book on Jack the Ripper? The answer, based on this most recent offering at least, is probably not. Since the Whitechapel Murders occurred in 1888-91, over 100 non-fiction titles have been published on the topic. Predictably, because of the high number, they run the gamut from brilliant to embarrassingly bad. This one falls somewhere in the middle.

Despite the subtitle, this is not simply an alphabetically arranged series of entries. It begins with a concise, well-organized synopsis of each of the murder investigations and discusses 18 possible victims. In a summary section, Eddleston concludes that eight women likely fell victim to Jack although, as has become fashionable lately, he believes that Elizabeth Stride, the first victim of the so-called "double event" of 30 September 1888, should, perhaps, not be included. The book also contains detailed street maps (among the best published so far) and new photographs of the murder sites as they now look. Unfortunately, at a time when extensive footnotes have become a mandatory aspect of serious Ripper research, this book contains none. And while the discussions of the murders are quite good, they are not as good as those in Philip Sugden's monumental The Complete History of Jack the Ripper which appeared, early in 2002, in revised paperback editions published by Robinson in London and by Carroll & Graf in New York.

The encyclopedic part of the book consists of separate chapters in which the witnesses, the police, "others who played a part", and suspects (a whopping 114 of them) are each summarized in alphabetical entries. This can be rather confusing since a researcher has to know into which category a subject fits before it can be looked up. (One can, of course, use the index, although that seems to defeat the purpose of creating an alphabetical list in the first place.) In addition to naming the many suspects, Eddleston also ranks each of them on a scale from 0 to 5 on their chances of being the Ripper. The large number of possible suspects seems, frankly, excessive---especially since many of them are introduced only to be immediately discounted. And several of the major suspects (except, of course, for Eddleston's own favourite) seem to be dismissed from consideration rather cavalierly. In any event, the encyclopedic aspect of the book cannot compete with what is unquestionably the leading reference book in the field, the most recent edition of The Jack the Ripper A-Z (London: Headline, 1996) compiled by Paul Begg, Martin Fido, and Keith Skinner.

Ultimately, in a final summary, Eddleston opts for George Hutchinson as the most likely of the named suspects. This is certainly not a novel suggestion since this witness, who figured prominently in the Mary Jane Kelly murder inquiry, has become an increasingly popular candidate in recent years. In fact, his candidacy was thoroughly explored by Bob Hinton in From Hell: The Jack the Ripper Mystery (Abertillery, Wales: Old Bakehouse Publications, 1998). Now, admittedly, From Hell has its own set of problems. It, too, has no footnotes and is very obviously in need of a good editor and proofreader; nonetheless, it contains much the same information on Hutchinson as Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia but at a fraction of the cost.

There is a chapter devoted to correspondence, which includes a discussion of several of the letters allegedly written by the murderer. Eddleston includes the letter dated 17 September 1888 [Ref: HO 144/221/A49301C] that was first published in Paul Feldman's Jack the Ripper: The Final Chapter (London: Virgin, 1997). He refers to this letter two or three times and places a great deal of importance on it. Unfortunately, very few Ripper researchers consider the letter to be genuine; nearly all believe it to be a modern hoax that was planted among the official documents in the Public Record Office. Now, there is nothing wrong with Eddleston's deciding that the letter is real and using its contents accordingly; but he should, at the very least, advert to the fact that there is serious disagreement among the experts as to the letter's authenticity. To do any less is to mislead his readers.

A potentially very useful chapter deals with the myths and errors that have crept into Ripper research over the years. The canards that he attempts to explode deal with only the five canonical victims (Nichols, Chapman, Stride, Eddowes, and Kelly) and, once again, the undertaking is hampered by the lack of footnoting. Eddleston lists neither the sources of the myths nor the sources of his (presumably correct) answers, so the value of the section is rather limited.

A chapter dealing with "The Literature" contains an annotated listing of some of the books and films that have dealt with Jack the Ripper. The list hits most of the major items that should be brought to the attention of novice researchers in the field, but they are mixed in with a lot of material that should be avoided. Eddleston could have been a little more conscientious in separating the wheat from the chaff. And, in his discussion of the errors that exist in some of the better-known books, references to the relevant page numbers would have been helpful. Just prior to the final summary mentioned above, the book concludes, interestingly, in the same way as From Hell, with detailed directions on how to conduct your own "Ripper walk" through the East End.

The last difficulty with this book is its remarkably high price. If the cost were more reasonable, it would be easier to recommend the book because it does contain some useful information. As it is, however, only the most fanatical collectors of Ripperana should purchase it. It's not that this is a bad book; it's just that there are better books available, for much less money, which cover more or less the same ground.

This book is logically organized into different sections (victims, witnesses, police, etc.) & then alphabetically arranged within each section, so it's very easy to find what you're looking for, even without using the extensive index. Eddleston debunks many of the popular theories on who the killer may have been, & intelligently & concisely describes pros & cons for Jack the Ripper's possible victims (5 to 8 seems to be the most frequently cited range for the number of murders he committed). I disagree with certain of his conclusions (e.g., that Elizabeth Stride was probably not a victim), but more often than not, I feel that Eddleston is right on target. His discussion of Aaron Cohen & Nathan Kaminsky is interesting, as is his belief that George Hutchinson or "Unknown Male" (someone who has not come to light) are two of the most likely candidates. Good discussion of the Maybrick Diary. Even though some of his logic is faulty, I'd have to say that this is one of the three best Jack the Ripper books in my library (along with Philip Sugden's "The Complete Casebook of Jack the Ripper" & Paul Begg's, et. al., "The Jack the Ripper A-Z." It's high priced but well written & well made & worth the money.

... this is, without doubt, one of the best Ripper books EVER produced. It is complete in that it covers every possible victim, every suspect and everyone who plays a part. The arguments are logical and not sullied by the blinkered stupidity of most other writers on the subject. It is an ideal reference work for the newcomer to the field or the so-called self-ackowledged expert and should be on everyone's shelf. Better to buy this book than a dozen others covering the nonsense of the Freemason conspiracy or the nonsense of the Maybrick theory.
Ninety nine percent of books on this topic are dross. There are a few gems and this is up there with them. ...