Read at your peril - not for the faint hearted (Jack the Ripper: The Casebook - Richard Jones)

Member Name: Mildew82

Product:	Jack the Ripper: The Casebook - Richard Jones
Date:	14/10/09 (106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well organised and detailed with extra memorabilia

Disadvantages: No holds barred - my offend the more sensitive types

Let us, if we dare, transport ourselves back to 31st August 1888, Whitechapel, London. With over half of the East End's population crammed into a place of devastating poverty and social decay every day is a real struggle for survival. In extreme economic hardship, with 20 hour working days in sweatshops for minimum wage, the financial burden falls to wives and daughters who have very little choice but to prostitute themselves.

Prostitution at the best of times is a dangerous game with thieving pimps, abusive clients and other territorial prostitutes to fear, but today this fear will take on a new form - an elusive and menacing villain is about to start a 10 week campaign of terror as he stalks the streets of Whitechapel with savage and murderous intent.

All prostitutes beware - Jack the Ripper is born.


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On that dramatic note it's probably wise to mention that I am one of many that have a perhaps slightly unnatural morbid curiosity into one of most infamous unsolved whodunits ever to hit England. The burning question that has baffled experts and mystery buffs for over 120 years now which, as time passes, seems less and less likely to be answered is "Who was Jack the Ripper?".

With an excessively huge range of literature on the subject, each with their own theories and interpretations of the events that transpired in those fateful autumn weeks of 1888 my eye was caught by a neat looking book "Jack the Ripper: The Casebook " by Richard Jones.



Jack the Ripper: The Casebook
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The first thing that caught my attention was the outward style of the book, which had a subtle yet chilling front cover of grim London and a man lurking in the shadows. My attention turned to interest when I saw that this was more than a book, it also contained copies of rare authentic documents and other memorabilia which is not something I had come across before. This could be a chance to fulfil a childhood dream of mine to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper with the aid of genuine evidence so I thought I'd give it a whirl and see if it gave me any new insights.

Yes - I know - as a child I should have been playing with dolls instead of reading about Jack the Ripper but hey, blame my parents!


The Contents
=========

The thing I really like about this book is that Richard Jones just deals with the plain facts of the case and doesn't try to put his own spin on events to fit a specific theory. He just makes the facts available for you to interpret as you wish (although these include facts that do disprove old theories) - perfect in my quest to fulfil that old pesky childhood dream.

The book is structured in a nice, ordered way, following a timeline of actual events as closely as possible which makes it very easy to understand and follow. The book is broken down into several distinct sections:

First we get a detailed look at the historical background of London and Whitechapel in particular to hammer home how horrendous the living conditions were and how dangerous the streets were back in those days, plus an insight into the Jewish immigrant population and the problems they faced. We also get a bit of background on the detectives in charge of policing Jack the Ripper, including probably the most famous detective to be known from the case - Inspector Frederick Abberline.

The book then walks us through the lives and fates of the "canonical five" - the official Ripper victims - Mary Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Kelly as well as a few other Whitechapel murders that may or may not have been the work of Jack the Ripper.

The potential suspects and other theories are then fully explored so we become privy to all the original police theories plus expert theories developed over the years since the savage butcheries took place. Some theories are plausible whilst others are just wild speculations such as the involvement of the Freemasons or it being a member of royalty committing the murders! Who'd be a conspiracy theorist?

This is all aided by the supplements included in this casebook.


Rare documents and memorabilia
======================

We are treated to a nice array of authentic documents (albeit copies) which may be of great interest to those looking to fully engross themselves in this frustrating case. We are given genuine reports of Catherine Eddowe's murder in Mitre Square, plus reports on the response to her murder plus the incident of the Goulston Street graffito "The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing" and anonymous letter sent during their investigation.

We also are privy to Inspector Abberline's report on Mary Kelly's murder, plus the witness statement of George Hutchinson alluding to a meeting between herself and an unknown man shortly before her death.

I actually found the handwriting a little tricky to read due to the late Victorian scrawl that must have been all the rage back then so didn't really get anything out of these reports as I simply couldn't understand them. But if you have a talent for deciphering handwriting then I'm sure they will be of the utmost interest.

We are also given copies of the infamous "Jack the Ripper" letters which caused a great stir in the original investigation despite now being widely accepted as being a hoax. These include the "Dear Boss" letter which was received three days before the double murder of Eddowes and Stride and was signed Jack the Ripper, the postcard apparently from the same source suggesting "a double event" and the letters to Mr George Lusk addressed "From Hell".

Finally we are given an interesting look at the mindset of the press and how much of an active interest they took during these murders with their reports on both the murders and the social conditions of the East End. Firstly, true to form by today's standards, we are given an extract from the Illustrated Police News which graphically illustrates the murders to seemingly appease the public's morbid curiosity rather than to provide any real information. Secondly we get an extract from the New York Herald - an international paper which shows how far the story had spread.


The Artistry
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The book is extremely well designed, with a sleek exterior and very professional looking interior. Each page is given a crumpled, slightly yellowed and old look give it a feel that it has all come from the late 19th Century which is a nice touch. There are also drops of blood and smeared bloody finger prints adorning the pages to give it that extra macabre feel which adds to the general tone of the book.

Each page is also divided roughly equally between text and pictures so you don't feel bogged down by facts and get to have a little glimpse first hand as to what life was like back then visually. There are some real photos from certain events and some sketches of people and events where photos weren't possible which again add to the authenticity of the book.


************************WARNING****************** ********
********SOME PICTURES ARE NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED*******


As a final warning, a lot of the genuine photos were of morgue shots for Jack the Ripper's victims so you get to see the real women after they had been brutalised which is just not nice and in some case were exceptionally graphic showing the full of extent of the mutilations suffered upon them. The most disturbing of all is of the photograph taken of Mary Kelly actually in her room where you can see the utter disfigurement of her body which is not for the faint hearted!


Conclusion
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For any Jack the Ripper enthusiasts (if that is the right word when describing a butcher like him) this book will definitely not add anything new to previous books or theories, but it is an extremely well organised and well produced book which can act as a great reference to quickly look up specific facts of the case with detailed chapters and a useful index at the back.

It sadly didn't help me in realising my childhood dreaming of solving the case as there really wasn't anything new factually to discover (it was unlikley that I woould succeed where fully trained experts had failed), but the addition of the rare documents and memorabilia and the genuine crime scene photos did add a little extra to this book so it is well worth adding to your collection if you are an enthusiast and would be exceptionally useful for someone wanting to learn about the history for the first time.

As the Australians would say at £14 from Amazon this book is an absolute ripper of a deal!

Summary: Can you be the one to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper?