new member

[tobyduke]

just found this site after coming across the podcasts.what book do you recommend to start learning about jack

[Cubitt]

Hi Toby,

I'm a newby to this forum, like you. However, I've been reading about the Whitechapel murders for years.

The podcasts are quite in depth and probably not the best place to start if you're completely new to the case.

To be honest, the best place to start if you're totaly new is to watch a film or tv series or read a book just to quickly familiarise yourself with the story. Some films are bad (From Hell starring Johnny Depp) and some are good (Jack the Ripper, starring Michael Caine). The From Hell graphic novel is also great and almost nothing like the film.

Once you've done that then you can start reading any one of the plethora of books available. Bear in mind some authors try and claim they've solved the identity of the Ripper but the truth is that no one ever has solved it beyond doubt. The Jack The Ripper source book is a good companion to have with you though as it presents no theories about anything and just has a wealth of evidence, from newspaper reports to eyewitness testimonies.

And there's a welter of stuff on this website of course. I can spend hours happily surfing it, especially the section on Victorian London.

Hope this is of some help. I'm sure other people would have their own recommendation on how to start out, but this is what I personally would do. In fact, it's what I did! I was hooked with a film as a kid and have just been fascinated by it ever since.

Cheers.

[Mike Covell]

Welcome to the site Tobyduke, hope you enjoy Jonathon Menges excellent podcasts, the man is a genius, but don't tell him I told you.

Some of the best books on the case are those which stick to the primary sources and include,
The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, Evans and Skinner,
Letters From Hell, Evans and Skinner,
Scotland Yard Investigates, Evans and Rumbelow,
The London of JTR Then and Now, Hutchinson and Clack,
JTR An Encyclopedia, Eddleston,
The Mammoth Book of JTR, Edoted by Jakubowski and Braund,
The First Victim Photographs, McLaughlin,
The Victims of JTR, Sheldon,
The JTR Casebook, Jones,
The Complete History of JTR, Sugden,
JTR The Facts, Begg
JTR A-Z, Begg, Fido and Skinner.

There are of course hundreds of books on JTR, but if your just getting into the case, it is better to look at the books with the primary sources, rather than aim to read a suspect book. The above list is just a few of my faves, and most are available through Amazon, but prices and availability will change.

Enjoy the site, and have fun.

[kensei]

The two best books I would reccomend, in equal amounts I would say, are "Jack the Ripper- The Facts" by Paul Begg and "The Complete History of Jack the Ripper" by Philip Sugden, but those are both pretty thick books. For a quicker read, a recent addition that didn't do too bad a job is "The Crimes of Jack the Ripper" by Paul Roland.

Two warnings- First, Sugden and Roland both end up favoring a particular suspect (though not saying "this is definitely the guy"), so don't let that sway you. And second, if you've started with "From Hell," once you delve into the true facts of the case you'll quickly learn just how much a work of fiction it is.

[Mike Covell]

Two warnings- First, Sugden and Roland both end up favoring a particular suspect (though not saying "this is definitely the guy"), so don't let that sway you. And second, if you've started with "From Hell," once you delve into the true facts of the case you'll quickly learn just how much a work of fiction it is.

The same things happen with the Encyclopedia, Eddleston points the finger at his fave suspect, which is a shame.