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More reference books

Casebook Message Boards: General Discussion: Miscellaneous: More reference books
Author: Neil K. MacMillan
Monday, 30 December 2002 - 01:12 pm
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I surf the boards here with reasonable frequency and I have a copy of the following books "The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion" by Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner, "Jack the Ripper; One Hundred Years of Mystery" by Peter Underwood and several books on British and international crime.
While these have been adequate (So far) for researching my novel, I feel they are not necessarily adequate for any truely deep research into developing a theory regarding who "Saucy Jack" might have been.
Obviously my "Jack" in the novel is a composite and shares characteristics with several of the suspects and I take liberties with the number of victims. I place the actual victims murders where they were found although I realize there is a strong possibility they may not have been killed there.
I'm rambling. What books would you veteran researchers recommend be in my library. (And yes, I do realize that first hand sources such as police reports are still the best source of information.) Thanks in advance and kindest regards for a safe and happy new year, Neil

Author: jennifer pegg
Monday, 30 December 2002 - 01:44 pm
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hi,
i would recomend the mamouth JTR, this was my first ripper book and set up my cynical mind perfectly as it outlines many differing theories and also has info on police etc
regards
jennifer
ps good luck with your book

Author: Neil K. MacMillan
Monday, 30 December 2002 - 03:30 pm
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Jennifer; Who is the author and is that the proper title? regards, Neil

Author: Brian Schoeneman
Monday, 30 December 2002 - 04:11 pm
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Neil,

Here's what I've got, and it's by no means a complete list, and some of it is more police related than it is Ripper related:

Jack Books:
Complete Jack the Ripper, Phillip Sugden
Ultimate Companion, Evans & Skinner
Letters from Hell, Evans & Skinner
Definitive History, Begg

Cop Books:
Practical Homicide Investigation, Geberth
Sexual Homicide, Patterns and Motives, Burgess, Douglas and Ressler
Crime Classification Manual, Douglas
Handwriting Identification, Huber and Headrick
Rise of Scotland Yard, Browne

Period Books:
East End 1888, Fishman
People of the Abyss, London
Anything by Charles Dickens
Complete Sherlock Holmes, Doyle

That's a pretty big selection and unless you are a voracious reader like I am, it'll take a while to get through. Some of the books in the police section, particular the Handwriting and Practical Homicide you may not need and they are pretty damn expensives, being textbooks.

Anyway, hope that helps.

Personally, I'm not a Mammoth JTR fan - if you can find Begg, Fido and Skinner's Jack the Ripper A-Z, it'll do you better. And of course, having the Ultimate Companion with all of the primary sources is key.

B

Author: chris scott
Monday, 30 December 2002 - 05:19 pm
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Neil
the book Jennifer mentioned is call
The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper and is edited by Maxim Jakubowski and Nathan Braund
Hope this helps
Chris S

Author: Christopher-Michael DiGrazia
Tuesday, 31 December 2002 - 03:33 pm
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Neil -

Brian has come up with a very good list, and certainly I could hardly hope to improve on his recommendations.

I might suggest, however, four titles which I think may be of interest to you:

Jack the Ripper: Anatomy of a Myth by William Beadle. A very underrated book, but which I think was one of the best of the last decade.

City of Dreadful Delight by Judith Walkowitz and London's Underworld by Henry Mayhew. The former is a feminist academic who discusses the Ripper murders and prostitution as seen through social construct, the latter a contemporary Victorian survey of the poor classes, and invaluable for a feel of the Ripper's time.

East End Then and Now (sorry, I don't have the author to hand) for pictures of the neighbourhood.

And would you be kind enough to tell me more about your novel? I'd like to keep track of it and make note in my magazine (as well as get a signed copy!) You can post here or reach me through e-mail. I will also go through my library over the next few days to add to this list.

Cheers,
Christopher-Michael DiGrazia
Editor, Ripper Notes

Author: Trevor Robert Jones
Wednesday, 01 January 2003 - 07:18 am
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Hi Neil ,
Donald Rumbelows "The complete Jack the Ripper" :isbn 0-14-017395-1 , published by Penguin , is certainly worth a look.

Trevor

Author: Neil K. MacMillan
Tuesday, 07 January 2003 - 05:02 pm
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Chris: The novel is pretty much a straight forward story of Jack. For the novel, I make him a doctor who spent time in the U.S. I add one totally fictional victim at the outset. I include Martha Tabram as a victim. I am currently re-researching Mary Ann Nichols with a view of fleshing out the day before she was murdered. My working title is "Dusty Bluebells" after the British children's song. By the way thanks all for the list. Stepping away from the novel, I believe Tumblety is the best suspect and that Tabram was a victim but as an amateur historian, I would not in good conscience state that as fact in any non-fiction article. Kindest regards, neil


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