The Jack the Ripper Case - SOLVED (apparently)

[Lupo]

The whole magic of the case is the not knowing, he/she remains, almost 130 years later, a faceless, nameless, mysterious monster who stalked the shadows. Had he been caught the case would largely have been forgotten by the turn of the 20th century

 

[Lupo]

Bought the Bank Holiday Murders book on Amazon last night LJ

 

[lemonjelly]

Your in for a treat mate!

Went through my bookcase, and would recommend the following as good quality books/reads if you don't have them:

Philip Sugden - the complete Jack the Ripper
JtR - The Facts - Paul Begg (almost anything by Begg is worthwhile)
JtR - CSI Whitechapel - P Begg & J Bennett (this has recently been republished slightly differently as this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jack-Ripper-John-G-Bennett/dp/023300520X/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485191004&sr=1-8&keywords=jack+the+ripper+books & I've seen the new version in the works cheap. Really good CGI interpretations of the crime scenes.
The Complete & Essential JtR (Begg & Bennett again)
JtR Letters From Hell (explores masses of so called JtR letters) Evans & Skinner
JtR & the case for scotland yards prime suspect (Rob House) worthwhile if you're interested in Kosminski
Ripper Diary - The Inside Story - Linder, Morris & Skinner - there are other diary books (shirley harrison, paul feldman and others have written maybrick books) but the most impartial is this one. feldman, harrison & robert smith have an agenda imo.
The Trial of JtR - Euan Macphearson/JtR Unmasked - William Beadle - 2 good books on william bury, a potential suspect. I don't recommend many suspect books, but these are ace, and bury is worthy of consideration.
By Ear & Eyes - karyo Magellan - phenomenal read that like Tom Wescott is great for those with a good overview of the case, and want something a little more detailed. This is a forensic examination of the witnesses, and the injuries sutained. His treatment of Israel Schwartz is brutal, and very worthy as a result.
The secret of prisoner 1167 - James Tully - narrates how a psycopath escaped from broadmoor in early 1888, was in london through summer but not caught, and then not heard of until the 20th century, when elderly he handed himself in. quite gripping, worthy of reading.
Jtr Scotland Yard Investigates - Evans & Rumbelow.


Batshit mental books - they all love jack by bruce robinson is nuts! as is JtR british intelligence agent by tom slemen. Naming JtR by russell edwards is pure unsubstantiated crap written by someone with a messiah complex.
Avoid anything royal conspiracy, except maybe stephen knights book that has a tragic backstory behind it.

 

[Wombat del combate]

Really good CGI interpretations of the crime scenes.

I'll take your word for it.

 

[lemonjelly]

As they were in 1888, not with victims in situ....

 

[Wombat del combate]

No, I meant the actual quality of the (architectural) CGI, seeing as that was what I once did for a career and still see some utter shite published.

 

[Lupo]

Your in for a treat mate!

Went through my bookcase, and would recommend the following as good quality books/reads if you don't have them:

Philip Sugden - the complete Jack the Ripper
JtR - The Facts - Paul Begg (almost anything by Begg is worthwhile)
JtR - CSI Whitechapel - P Begg & J Bennett (this has recently been republished slightly differently as this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jack-Ripper-John-G-Bennett/dp/023300520X/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485191004&sr=1-8&keywords=jack+the+ripper+books & I've seen the new version in the works cheap. Really good CGI interpretations of the crime scenes.
The Complete & Essential JtR (Begg & Bennett again)
JtR Letters From Hell (explores masses of so called JtR letters) Evans & Skinner
JtR & the case for scotland yards prime suspect (Rob House) worthwhile if you're interested in Kosminski
Ripper Diary - The Inside Story - Linder, Morris & Skinner - there are other diary books (shirley harrison, paul feldman and others have written maybrick books) but the most impartial is this one. feldman, harrison & robert smith have an agenda imo.
The Trial of JtR - Euan Macphearson/JtR Unmasked - William Beadle - 2 good books on william bury, a potential suspect. I don't recommend many suspect books, but these are ace, and bury is worthy of consideration.
By Ear & Eyes - karyo Magellan - phenomenal read that like Tom Wescott is great for those with a good overview of the case, and want something a little more detailed. This is a forensic examination of the witnesses, and the injuries sutained. His treatment of Israel Schwartz is brutal, and very worthy as a result.
The secret of prisoner 1167 - James Tully - narrates how a psycopath escaped from broadmoor in early 1888, was in london through summer but not caught, and then not heard of until the 20th century, when elderly he handed himself in. quite gripping, worthy of reading.
Jtr Scotland Yard Investigates - Evans & Rumbelow.


Batshit mental books - they all love jack by bruce robinson is nuts! as is JtR british intelligence agent by tom slemen. Naming JtR by russell edwards is pure unsubstantiated crap written by someone with a messiah complex.
Avoid anything royal conspiracy, except maybe stephen knights book that has a tragic backstory behind it.

Thanks for this, I've read some of those. The Prisoner 1167 book sounds intriguing, need to tell girlfriend's mother what to get me for Christmas!

 

[Templeton Peck]

They All Love Jack is a tremendous piece of work. He nails the ripper fairly easily as he argues the police could have too if they weren't so concerned with covering the whole thing up.

A real insight into the savagery and corruption of the British empire and the lengths people went to in order to protect it.

 

[Lupo]

The Bank Holiday Murders book arrived today and the girlfriend's mom is meant to be getting me Prisoner 1157 for Christmas!

 

[lemonjelly]

i've been given a box full of jack the ripper books.
most of them i've already got, but there were a few nice surprises.

anyhow, as a result of the duplications, i've the following, and seeing as there's a few posters interested in the subject, happy to let them go free to a good home.
if you want me to post them to you, i'd ask postage costs be covered (i'll keep that to a minimum). if you live in wolves, birmingham, parts of kingswinford, or parts of willenhall i might be able to drop them off for you if i'm passing nearby.
hb= hardback, pb= paperback. all are in good or better condition, some are near mint.
pm me, or post here if interested:

jack the ripper the final chapter - paul feldman (pb)
the secret of prisoner 1167: was this man jack the ripper - james tully (hb)
portrait of a killer - patricia cornwell (hb)
jack the ripper anatomy of a myth - william beadle (hb)
the lodger: the arrest an escape of jack the ripper - stewart evans and paul gainey (hb)
the crimes, detection and death of jack the ripper - martin fido (pb)
jack the ripper a 21st century investigation - trevor marriott (pb)
from hell:the jack the ripper mystery - bob hinton (pb)
the autobiography of jack the ripper - james carnac (hb)
jack the ripper the simple truth - bruce paley (pb)
jack the ripper summing up and verdict - colin wilson and robin odell (pb)
the true face of jack the ripper - melvin harris (pb)
jack the ripper the final solution - steven knight (pb)
jack the ripper the whitechapel murderer - terry lynch (pb)
the crimejack the rippers of jack the ripper - paul rowland (pb)
naming jack the ripper - russell edwards (hb)
jack the ripper the casebook - richard jones (hb)
the many faces of jack the ripper - m j trow (hb)
jack the ripper the bloody truth - melvin harris (hb)
jack the ripper letters from hell - stewart evans and keith skinner (pb)
the ripper file melvin harris (hb)
the jack the ripper whitechapel murders - kevin o'donnell (hb)

 

[darlowolf64]

I wouldn't mind a couple Warren.

The Jack The Ripper Whitechapel Murders and Jack The Ripper, anatomy of a myth please if that's ok?

I could get them off you tomorrow if convenient

 

[lemonjelly]

will bring them with me matey.

 

[darlowolf64]

Brilliant...Cheers

 

[lemonjelly]

darlo, one of the books I gave you refers to this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-42944124

 

[darlowolf64]

darlo, one of the books I gave you refers to this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-42944124

Hmmm, really interesting. Can chalk him off the "suspects"

 

[Templeton Peck]

Hmmm, really interesting. Can chalk him off the "suspects"

It was Michael Maybrick.

 

[lemonjelly]

Hmmm, really interesting. Can chalk him off the "suspects"

I wouldn't. He confessed to the murder of his wife twice. He's also been shown to have been in whitechapel at the time of the murders.

It was Michael Maybrick.

he really really wasn't. michael maybrick is up there with lewis carroll, dr barnardo, and the prince of wales as unlikely suspects.

 

[Templeton Peck]

I wouldn't. He confessed to the murder of his wife twice. He's also been shown to have been in whitechapel at the time of the murders.

he really really wasn't. michael maybrick is up there with lewis carroll, dr barnardo, and the prince of wales as unlikely suspects.

The evidence is overwhelming. The more interesting aspect for me is the cover up that occurred.

 

[Lupo]

The Bank Holiday Murders book arrived today and the girlfriend's mom is meant to be getting me Prisoner 1157 for Christmas!

Just finishing this book now. Another compelling case put forward for James Kelly. His movements in and out of London matched the presence of the Ripper and also the fact that he was an escaped psychopath ties in with the MO of the Ripper.

I have read other books where the main suspect has been less convincing than the Kelly theory.

Thoughts?

 

[lemonjelly]

It's been a while since I read prisoner 1167, and though I found it a well written and immensely readable book, I'm less convinced it offers anything anywhere near conclusive to link Kelly to the actual crimes. It raises kelly as a "person of interest", but little more. I think the 2 books proposing william bury are stronger in their weighting/linking the suspect to the actual area than anything put forward to link kelly as JtR.

I've developed a bit of a dislike for pure suspect based books, interesting though they are. Some researchers are very selective in what they include or discard as evidence, or relevant. That said, there are 3 groups of suspect books. There are the obvious cash in/quick buck books (the recent russell edwards book, or those "my mad uncle was jack" books), the insane ones (usually royal conspiracy, but there are books suggesting van gogh, lewis carroll, dr barnardo and other such fantasy type stuff), but there are some newer books that seem to have more reasonable research behind them (tom wescotts books, rob house's book on kosminski) that are much improved in style. Some suspect books are far too full of themselves, and are grandiose, and sometimes condescending towards any other theory (hello bruce robinson!). Personally, I am currently enjoying non-suspect books, or detailed but quite specific books that are just above layperson level (like tom wescott, rob house, and stuff by john bennett too).

Someday, I may re-read the tully book, as I remember enjoying it a lot. I also want to re-read stephen knights book, as I read it when a kid, and haven't read it since garnering a bit of knowledge on the case.

I recently read a book referring to kosminski's basis as the main suspect for the police. It was a strongly written book. Here's a review I posted of it elsewhere:

I wasn't around when Mr Malcom published his first book, though have read online it is a book worth reading. As someone who had a childhood passing interest into the case rekindled about 9 years ago I have developed a bigger than ever anticipated library of JtR books, and another ever expanding list of related and forthcoming books I'm interested in acquiring.
I now have a good general understanding of the case and numerous aspects. Not to the extent of most forum posters, and I'm more of a book reader than researcher, so my in depth and detail specific knowledge of the case is somewhat limited. After so many occasions of reading an overview of the case in the standard format (context, the murders, the investigation, conclusion)there comes a point where a non-expert/researcher such as myself is looking for more than a re-telling of the same issues/arguments. Malcolm notes this in his intro - the reader is assumed to have a certain level of understanding of the case. Fortunately, there are some books in such a vein. Letters from Hell, by Stewart Evans and Don Rumbelow is an example. Tom Wescotts 2 books are too. We see articles in ripperologist, but a lengthy exploration of relevant aspects of the case do have an audience, as well as needing to be published.
This book is a detailed examination primarily of Sir Robert Andersons published claims that the identity of the murderer was known, and how these comments sit in with contemporary and current opinion.
Malcolms methodology is to repeatedly scrutinise what was said by Anderson, and equally scrutinise contemporary and current perceptions and refutations of Andersons comments. There is some context given, with a chapter giving a social/historical setting, and an overview of the whitechapel murders, supported by a number of nice high quality colour photo's. Detailed exploration of Anderson and his comments follows which is concise yet thorough. This leads us to an exploration of the implications of Andersons theory, ie the polish jew theory, and perceptions of this. This is nicely done, I particulrly enjoyed this debate and the presentation of information of the Cox and Sagar information/investigations. This leads very nicely again into a serious review of the finding of the Swanson marginalia, and the implications of this. Part 5 of the book is an extremely interesting review of the context and implications of Andersons statements and the polish jew theory, and the arguement of anti-semmetism, and the introduction of information from Dr Apatowski is stimulating.

Part 6 is a collection of other wider case issues for discussion. An interesting break in proceedings. Mmalcolms methodology to compare sequential crimes against each other to compare/contrast is interesting. As a starting point I do think it is one possible useful mechanism for exploring links between the crimes. However I'm not sure this acheives what it set out to. Probably because the chapter could be a book within itself (see for example By Ear and Eyes by Karyo Magellen). But it does make me think about things attached to the crimes, which is in itself what a good book should do. Malcolms overview of profiling is a good bit of debate, with a number of useful/insightful comments/observations regarding the implications of this distinctly 20th century tool - we must remember that the information we are feeding into such profiling tools is much more restricted than is used in the modern day. Another section on the perspectives of the medical professionals, and the disagreements between these could also warrant a book of its own, but is very engaging. Then there follows a section exploring Andersons witness - Schwartz or Lawende. I love these sorts of examinations, and it was quite riveting for me.
A section on Macnaughten & others, with a few other officials, together with the authors closing comments wind up the book. There is a nice suggested reading bit (and I loved seeing John Bennetts Making of the Myth listed - my favorite book read to date, but was surprised Letters from Hell wasn't mentioned given the references to it in the text.) Malcolm adds reprints of 2 previously published articles that are relevant to the book. His article from casebook Examiner is a very detailed view, and in my opinion important. I can understand why some readers of the article when first published may have had an issue with the tone. I have read it twice, and now think that the perceived tone was not the intent, and it may be that the author at some point presents his points in a manner that is perceived in the less confrontational way in which it potentially appears. Importantly a large number of the points he raises in this article are relevant, and at the very least worthy of debate. Indeed for this reader, it was a very thought provoking read, hence reading it twice. Two other articles are much more personal statements on his interest on the polish jew theory.
This is an extremely good book. As well as the content, it is beautifully illustrated with the colour photos, and equally is bound delightfully. This reader found a book that challenged, gave new information, new perspectives, and made me think critically about my own perceptions of the case. I liked it a lot, and it will join Tom Wescotts books, John Bennetts, and a couple of others in a sub-section of my library that are much more specific, but very valued parts of my reading. There is a need for books like this to be available, and (if possible) widely read. I am grateful to Mr Malcolm for giving me something that was crucially, and critically challenging.
I have to say that Malcolm comes across to me as presenting a good case in support that Andersons published statements stand up to a fair amount of scrutiny. And to be fair, Malcolms point is not that the Ripper was Kosminski - he is at pains to stress this is not ascertained, but the point he is arguing, and quite persuasively is that Andersons comments have some validity. And this research shows a lot in support of his position.
The work has a subtitle of being a work in progress. I look forward to the opportunity of reading further work/research. If it is up to this standard, it will be worthwhile. Whether I agree with it's conclusions is a separate matter, but for encouraging me to re-think some of my own presuppositions critically, it will be worthwhile.

Bizarrely, the last ripper book I read was called 100 years of mystery by peter underwood. It was one of many published in 1988 to cash in on the centenary. One bit of filler at the end had an overview of 3 theories, and one was by james tully, before he published his book.