Just another Ripperology Book?
There is certainly no shortage of books and movies about Jack the Ripper, the mysterious 19th century serial murderer of London prostitutes (1888 - 1891). What makes Sugden’s book stand out from the crowd is the fact that he started from scratch.
Sugden’s New Approach to the Ripper
This author was frustrated by throngs of books that repeated erroneous information from previous authors; many of whom, Sugden suspects of each trying to substantiate their own pet theories as to the Ripper’s identity. In truth, the murders were never solved, and even the well-known officers and detectives investigating these crimes (Abberline, Swanson, Macnaughten and many others) were not in agreement. Each considered a different suspect as being most likely to have committed the crimes.
Who Was Jack the Ripper?
Was Saucy Jack the well-off barrister Montague John Druitt; seemingly harmless lunatic Aaron Kominski; con-man Michael Ostrog; psychopathic wife-killer George Chapman (aka Severin Klosowski) or none of the above?
After more than 500 pages in which Sudgen informs his readers of all of the hard evidence currently available regarding this case, this author anticlimactically (and truthfully) concludes that we may never know. And that truthfulness makes this book an absolute gem.
Sugden also informs readers that the moniker “Jack the Ripper” appears to have been invented by newsmen suspected of writing some or all of the now famous Ripper letters, journalists desperately trying to feed the frantic publics’ demand for information, scoop the competition and sell papers. This is just one example of the vast array of Ripper mythology debunked in this book.
Looking for Ripper Fact or Fiction?
If you are a reader more interested in deriving a horrifying vicarious thrill from a Ripper story full of royals and secret agendas, perhaps this is not the book for you; although the stark reality of the crimes presented by Sugden is most certainly horrifying. This author chooses to very carefully and meticulously present the verifiable facts associated with each murder.
In researching the book, Sudgen slogged though the original documents and bits of evidence currently in existence, and it can be slow-going for a reader to sift through all of these details. But by working through the facts of the case, we are rewarded with details of each victims’ personal lives as well as what is known of their activities shortly prior to their deaths.
The book covers nine murders, eight of which are suspected to have been committed by the Ripper, including victims Martha Tabram, Mary 'Polly' Nichols, 'Dark' Annie Chapman, Elizabeth 'Long Liz' Stride, Kate Eddows, Mary Kelly, Alice McKenzie and Francis Coles. Sugden includes a map of the Whitechapel area, with the marked locations of the murders as well as many photos (those slain, the murder locations and some of the seriously considered suspects).
Law Enforcement & the Ripper Serial Murders
The Complete History also presents a portrayal of the difficulties and frustrations that law enforcement faced in trying to apprehend the Ripper; not only featuring the famous Detective Frederick Abberline, but also Scotland Yard, the metropolitan police, the CID and civilian volunteers who patrolled the streets.
Sudgen closes with several chapters, each detailing those seriously considered as Ripper suspects, and a final chapter of last thoughts on where we go from here, with an unsolved series of murders that took place more than 100 years ago.
The Book's Basics
- Title: The Complete History of Jack the Ripper, New Edition
- Author: Philip Sugden
- Publisher & Date: Carroll & Graf 2002
- List Price: $15.95
- ISBN: 0-7867-0932-4
- Recommendation? Definitely worth the time and money!
More Book Reviews
See other Suite101 reviews of other historical books, including Enoch Callaway’s Asylum: A Mid-Century Madhouse and Its Lessons about Our Mentally Ill Today and Donald Wolfe's The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul, and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.
