June 1996
The Casebook has received countless requests for advice concerning how novice Ripperologists should begin their edification on the case. In your opinion, what books, films, articles, or works in any form of media are best for those who have practically no knowledge of the case? Which provide the most unbiased view of the facts, and which works should be avoided?
1.
Date: Sun, 2 Jun 1996 21:36:08 -0700
From: wolvie@sprynet.com
Oh boy, where to start? Rumbelow's book "The Complete Jack the Ripper" is always a good start, but even the 1988 edition is a bit dated. Fido's text "The Crimes, Detection, and Death of Jack the Ripper" is also good, but it suffers from a lack of illistrations and it shows a rather heavy-handed bias toward his own pet theory. Sugden's new book "The Complete History of Jack the Ripper" is my vote for the best acount of the case(it is also amusing to see how he tears apart all the theories). I would, however, be a bit slow to recomend it to the novice as it is quite a handfull! Any of these three would give a good over-view of the case. Books I would definitly avoid would be Knight's "Jack the ripper; the final solution" and Harrison's "The Diary of Jack the Ripper". Both of these books have caused alot of problems by proposing outlandish and blatently false theories. Most Ripper theories should be taken with a grain of salt, but these two have caused the most damage.
2.
Date: Mon, 03 Jun 96 09:17:28 -0700
From: Paul Emmitt
I think that the two most informed and impartial sources for JTR information are THE JACK THE RIPPER A TO Z by Begg, Fido and Skinner, and THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF JACK THE RIPPER by Sugden. Both books are not only smart, thorough, clear and open-minded, they also have the advantage of being contemporary, so they can incorporate recent discoveries like Bond's report on Mary Kelly. In particular, Sugden's first chapter, "A Century of Final Solutions," is a most effective presentation of the errors and deceptions that await the Ripper scholar. This chapter also names names--the right names--as it tells the novice which sources should be read more "carefully."
3.
Date: Mon, 03 Jun 1996 15:03:03 -0400
From: Michael Rogers
How to get started. My advice would be to generally ignore all the feature films made about the case since I've never seen one that was worth a damn. If anyone has, give me the title and I'll look for it. Some are enjoyable as fiction but not as representations of known fact and the killer almost always turns out to be some upstanding citizen. There are a lot of good books and a lot of bad ones. For my money, Donald Rumbelow's is still the bible. Paul Begg's volume is quite good also as an overall view without trying to name the killer. Martin Fido's book has a lot of good stuff in it but you either believe his David Cohen theory or you don't. I don't. The book nonetheless is good reading. Around the 100th anniversary in 1988 a lot of cheapie volumes came out, most of which were slapped together by journalists trying to capitalize on the centennial. Most just rounded up the usual suspects without much analyzation of the material. Generally, if the cover features some sensationalistic schlock like a guy in a cape and a top hat terrorizing some buxom babe with a butcher knife clenched in his fist, then it?s probably worth avoiding.
4.
Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 16:45:46 +-1000
From: Dennis Stocks
By far the best book on JTR would have to be the recently published THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF JACK THE RIPPER by Philip Sugden. London: Robinson. Revised paperback edition 1995.
Sugden examines all evidence, all incidents, all suspects with an eye that is a delight to a historian. Unlike so many other authors, he has no suspect to put forward, but clearly examines each one. He does not rely on the previous work or fantasies of those who have gone before, but uses primary sources.
Another invaluable source I find myself using on a regular basis is Paul Begg, Martin Fido and Keith Skinner's JACK THE RIPPER A TO Z. (Headline, London, 1991).. a source book of immense use as a quick and accurate reference to any incident, person, book etc. involved with JTR.
5.
Date: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 14:19:53 +0200
From: Adam Wood
In my view anyone new to the case should avoid ANY book which claims to solve the mystery of the Rippers identity. I have read several and each present a different theory which can be both plausible and sometimes convincing. Some books have facts left out to fit the theory, and older ones dont include information made available when the file was released to the public in 1987.
A good starting point is Paul Begg's `Jack The Ripper - The Uncensored Facts`. As the title implies, it is a straightforward account of the known facts. Theres a chapter on the background to the murders, including living standards, police organisation, newspaper coverage and description of Whitechapel during that period. It gives a detailed account of the lives of each victim, their murder, and includes photos not released until 1988.
6.
Date: Wed, 05 Jun 1996 22:47:54 -0500
From: Rochelle Diamond
I am new to this site, but I also have a few books that might be helpful in getting facts and opions about J the R. Everyone has their pet theories, and in each of the books fiercly defend them. The Begg, Fido & Skinner book Jack the Ripper A to Z is quite good in giving you the facts so you can develop your own theories. David Abrahamson's Secret Life of Jack the Ripper is also interesting. Howells & Skinner's The Ripper Legacy is worth a look also.
7.
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 08:48:38 -0400
From: Edward B. Hanna
The best, most accurate, most objective and least fanciful sources without doubt are: 'The Complete Jack The Ripper' by Donald Rumbelow; 'Autumn of Terror' by Tom Cullen; 'Jack The Ripper: One Hundred Years of Mystery' by Peter Underwood; 'A Casebook on Jack The Ripper' by Richard Whittington-Egan; 'Jack the Ripper: The Uncensored Facts' by Paul Begg; and 'Jack The Ripper: One Hundred Years of Investigation' by Terence Sharkey.
I don't agree with everthing they have to say - indeed, they often disagree among one another on several points - but for the most part they are accurate and impartial, Rumbelow in particular. I would start with him.
I would stay away from most of the others, including Stephen Knight, who I know has a large following. Although much of his research is solid, his interpretations and conclusions can be pretty far out. Somebody by the name of Sperling, I think it was, wrote a thin book some years ago linking Clarence with the murders. It was thin in every respect. In fact, much if not most of what has been written about the case - especially the so-called Ripper Diary, which is an out-and-out fraud - is for the most part garbage. But they do add to the mystique.
There are a few new ones out - one published by my publisher, Carroll and Graf, a year or so ago (can't recall the title). It is a good, general compilation of the facts of the case.
Edward B. Hanna
Author, Whitechapel Horrors
8.
Date: Sun, 9 Jun 1996 09:50:04 -0400
From: Larry S. Barbee
As most of the other correspondents I think there are three books of the first rank that a novice should have access to in order to be fully informed of the Ripper murders:
1) Donald Rumbelow's The Complete Jack the Ripper. This was the authoratative source for almost twenty years. Even though there are a few inaccuracies in even the 1987 revised edition, Rumbelow's skills as a writer entertains the reader while being informed on all the basic topics concerning the case.
2) Philip Sugden's The Complete History of Jack the Ripper. Most scholars I think, would agree that this is now the most authorative book on the murders. A revised edition was published and real efforts are made to remove the few and minor mistakes of the first edition. It may be free of any mistakes or errors, which would make it the only book with that distinction. He has updated it with the Maybrick material as well as other new bits of information, and plans another revised edition to include the Tumblety information.
3) The Jack the Ripper A to Z can answer almost any question that can be answered concerning the case. As with Sugden's text, this book has been revised and a future edition to accomodate the latest information is being prepared.
There are some other good books as well but I think these three are all one needs for the essential information.
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