At last, the true story of Jack the Ripper - a copiously illustrated and officially documented reconstruction of the infamous Whitechapel Murders. This singular encyclopedic work offers the ultimate in Ripper research. Solidly researched and profusely illustrated, collated from all the known official records and supplemented by contemporary press reports, it presents for the first time, in one volume, a prime-source reference book on the eleven shocking prostitute murders that took place in the East End of London between 1888 and 1891. While there is no doubt that the Whitechapel Murders, as they were classified by Scotland Yard, were committed by more than one person, no one knows how many of the killings can be attributed to a single culprit. More than one murderer wore the guise of Jack the Ripper, and certain identities of all to this day remain unknown. Divorcing the facts of the Ripper case from the myths that have proliferated in myriad books and film, this painstakingly compiled sourcebook offers a factual, documented narrative of the entire series of crimes, their forensic evidence, the official suspects and possible accomplices, police reports, and inquests. Any historian or crime fan researching the world's most notorious serial murders as well as general readers interested in the true facts of the case, will find this book as invaluable as it is affordable.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com 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
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I Was A Bit Disappointed,
By A Customer
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion (Hardcover)
Let me state right off that I have been a "Ripperologist" for more then 25 years and I have read every book about Jack the Ripper that does not definitely state who he was as well as some books that try to make a case for a certain suspect(s). This includes works by Tom Cullen, Donald Rumbelow, Paul Begg, Philip Sugden, Martin Fido, Stephen Knight and Bruce Paley. I have always been in love with the "romance" of that era with its hansom cabs, swirling fogs, gaslit lamps, Sherlock Holmes, etc. I have also seen every documentary that has come down the pike and have been on the Jack the Ripper walking tour in London 9 times as well as visiting the murder sites on my own. When I first saw this book listed I was very excited and ordered it right away. Though it is useful in that it deals with all of the Whitechapel murders from 1888 - 91 (obviously Jack did not do all of them) I only really found useful the illustarations which I had never seen before as well as some of the contemporary newspaper reports. The book literally and figuratively "weighs a ton". Basically it is all the offical reports from Scotland Yard and contemporary newspaper reports. Thus it is inevitably dry reading. I also am surprised that the author(s) cast doubt that Mary Kelly was a Ripper victim. This is a great book if someone is doing research for a thesis or term paper but is not all that valuable for the novice who wants to get a good idea of the Ripper and his times. A reader is overwhelmed with minutiae which is hard to absorb, remember and is not all that intersting. We can read verbatim the inquests but is that really necessary? Although I do not regret oredering this book I would recommend to Jack the Ripper enthusiasts Philip Sugden's "The Complete History of Jack the Ripper" along with Donald Rumbelow's "Jack the Ripper: The Complete Case Book (which is superbly written but a bit out of date). Also the Martin Fido, Paul Begg, Keith Skinner: "Jack the Ripper A - Z" which is an encylopedia of Ripper related information.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just the facts ma'am.,
By
This review is from: The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion (Hardcover)
Forget all the other JTR books you have read in the past that focus on a particular suspect and read the original source material provided in this book. After reading the unadulterated, unedited primary source material culled from the Ripper Files and first hand newspaper accounts of the inquests, you will get a much truer picture of what took place than you will from the other books.It is easy to see from the way evidence get's left out or how it is dis-organized, the deliberatness of the obsfucation of Ripper suspect promoters simply to prove their points. By reading the original unedited accounts, I was amazed to see how fairly close descriptions of the Ripper are. In the Mary Kelly case in particular, 3 witnesses appear to place the time of the murder, while 2 have described the suspect in ways which match former descriptions of him from the other murders. Becuase of the way authors with a point to prove garble the evidence, it was only after reading this book that the picture becomes much clearer. And what comes clear most of all is that no one has a clue as to JTR's identity. You won't find much in the way of new evidence in this book, no smoking gun, though you may be able to resolve in your mind certain disputes such as the degree of anatomical knowledge the Ripper had, whether or not he wrote the Goulston Street Grafitti, and whether or not he was involved with both murders of the double event. But you will also find pages of minutae better left out, such as that dealing with whether or not to offer a reward, that might prove of historical interest to someone studying the police administration of the times, but provides nothing towards furthering the inquiry of the case. If you are looking for truth rather than entertainment value, this is one of the top three or four books on the Ripper you will find
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great reference for serious Ripper students,
This review is from: The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion (Hardcover)
This book limits its content to the "rawest" material possible, and consists 600 pages or so of first-hand information about the murders (from Emma Smith to Frances Cole) taken from Scotland Yard files, Home Office files, inquest reports, and contemporary news accounts. Many of the offical files were seldom seen or quoted, such as those on theorist Edward Knight Larkins, alleged suspect J. Duncan (who reportedly confessed to the killings), murder of Rose Mylett, the use of bloodhounds, the offering of rewards, etc. This is one of the very few Ripper books whose goal isn't to theorize on JTR's identity, but to simply provide readers with valuable historical information. A massive, "narrative-less" book with only dry data will likely bore the general reader. Also, only *primary source* information is in this book. You won't find any info on such peripheral figures as Lady Aberconway, William Gull, James Maybrick, etc. But without a question this book is indispensable to any student or researcher of the Whitechapel murders.Even with the excellent content, whether this book is the "ultimate" book, in the sense it can replace all others, is debatable. The excellent "Jack the Ripper A to Z", also co-written by Keith Skinner, though containing far less primary info, does have much wider coverage on both major and minor topics that a researcher may find valuable. I personally use "A to Z" as a starting point to look up any particular factoid about the murders, and then read "Ultimate" to see if there is any offical document to ascertain it. There are over 100 illustrations in "Ultimate" and many of them I had never seen before, such as photos of Detective Godley, PC William Smith, contemporary sketches of murder sites. Many key, familiar pictures are included, but some are not, such as pictures of John Littlechild, Wynne Baxter, Thomas Bond, the Goulston Street doorway, photos of Mitre Square and Church Passage. Apparently, this book was under another title from another publisher: "The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook".
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