Ripper Thrillers

[Barrister]

Colleagues,
I am compiling a list of the BEST Jack the Ripper fiction and will appreciate having your input. What do you think were the most compelling, or most entertaining, of the fictional accounts of the Ripper? If you don't have a favorite or two, I would be interested in learning what books you recall as being best sellers or well-received. The books can be very old or very new. Just let me know what you recommend. Thanks for your time and valuable suggestions, which will greatly assist me in preparing a talk for RipperCon America.

[GUT]

Patsy's book on Sickert.

That was fiction wasn't it.

[jmenges]

Hi Barrister,

I'm not a reader of Ripper fiction but the publisher of Mord McGhee's Murder Red Ink (he's from Philly) sent me 5 copies. I'd be happy to mail you one if you'd like to look it over for possible inclusion in your presentation.

If so, PM me your address.

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Red-Ink-Mord-McGhee/dp/1501041177

JM

[Pcdunn]

Hello, Barrister:

My friend recommends:
1888 a Jack THE Ripper novel by Charlie Reveille-Smith and
Dust and Shadows: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye.

My favorites are:
From Hell: being a melodrama in sixteen parts (graphic novel) by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. Note: the 1999 edition includes "Dance of the Gull-Chasers" essay and additional illustrated history of Ripperology.
A Study in Terror by Ellery Queen

Favorite movies are:
Time After Time
Murder by Decree

Finally, here is a link to a Goodreads list of "best Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper fiction"

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/10752.Best_Sherlock_Holmes_Vs_Jack_The_Ripper_Fiction

Hope these titles help a bit.

[Shaggyrand]

That's a tough subject to tackle. Ripper fiction has been around since the murders were still going, I think the first was published in October 1888. Robert Bloch's Ripper works are worth a look and Moore's From Hell.
Beware Holmes vs Ripper pastiches. There are thousands of them, that is not hyperbole, and maybe three are worth reading. Best to avoid them all together or you'll find yourself mired in soul crushing garbage. Especially the more recent ones.

ADDED!: Didn't see Pcdunn's post. If you are going to wade into the horror that is Holmes/Ripper fiction you need to at least read Nicholas Meyer's The West End Horror which is not on that list. No clue why it isn't but it should be (based on goodreads rating alone it should be).

[Barrister]

You bet I want to see it. Please send it to Janis@JanisWilson.com Thanks so much.

[Barrister]

Thanks for your suggestions, which I know are valuable because I love the films you recommended.

[Pcdunn]

Shaggy-- you're right about Meyer's "West End Horror", in which Holmes. Watson and Bram Stoker all tackle the Ripper horrors. Very good book!

[jmenges]

Barrister, I asked Admin to delete your post containing a physical address. You can't be too careful these days.

Thanks,

JM

[SirJohnFalstaff]

Back to Whitechapel (novel) by Michel Moatti.

Written in French (Retour à Whitechapel), I think the novel was translated in English.

I consider it a very good fiction, and I think it should be taken as such. But the author claim that his story could very well be the truth.

The angle I like the most is the narrator's perspective. Mary Jeannette Kelly had a daughter from a previous relationship. This woman is now a WWII nurse in London, during the bombing, and she joins a ripperologist club, not telling them the reasons for her joining. She uncovers the identity of the ripper, who has since passed away, and exposes a still living accomplice.

While his research is not up to the level of Sugden, he does very well. A bit less then Bourboing (Le livre rouge de Jack L'Éventreur (non fiction)) . They are, as far as I know, the only two serious book about jtr in French.

[Purkis]

Colin Wilson's 'Ritual in the Dark' is worth a mention.
It's the Ripper murders set in London of the 1950s.

[Barrister]

Thanks for having my back. I thought it was a private post. Look forward to seeing you in April in Baltimore.

[Mayerling]

Thanks for having my back. I thought it was a private post. Look forward to seeing you in April in Baltimore.

Vincent Starrett, the writer and Holmes "expert" (he helped found the modern Baker Street Irregulars Club) wrote a novel set in the 1930s "Death Walks in East Streppes" which is about a "Ripper" style set of killings. Dover Paperbacks put out an edition about fifteen years back.

Jeff

[Shaggyrand]

Vincent Starrett, the writer and Holmes "expert" (he helped found the modern Baker Street Irregulars Club) wrote a novel set in the 1930s "Death Walks in East Streppes" which is about a "Ripper" style set of killings. Dover Paperbacks put out an edition about fifteen years back.

Jeff

"Death Walks in Eastreppes" is by Francis Beeding (a pseudonym of John Palmer, he had a bunch). It's a great mystery. Starrett wrote an introduction for a couple editions. Think its currently, at least the rest of the Beeding books are, published by an imprint called Forgotten Books.

[Rosella]

'Death Walks in Eastreppes' is indeed a very good mystery. 'The Hands of Mr
Ottermole' is a short story about Ripper-style killings in London. I think it was written before WW1 and its author Thomas Burke is forgotten today. However Ellery Queen praised it, saying 'No finer crime story has ever been written'. I'm not sure of that, but it certainly has a lovely twist.