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  • Ripper Thrillers

    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.

  • #2
    Patsy's book on Sickert.

    That was fiction wasn't it.
    G U T

    There are two ways to be fooled, one is to believe what isn't true, the other is to refuse to believe that which is true.

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    • #3
      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.



      JM
      Last edited by jmenges; 10-21-2015, 12:07 PM.

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      • #4
        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"
        29 books based on 31 votes: Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye, The Further Adventures of Sherlock ...


        Hope these titles help a bit.
        Last edited by Pcdunn; 10-22-2015, 08:11 AM. Reason: fixing a typo
        Pat D. https://forum.casebook.org/core/imag...rt/reading.gif
        ---------------
        Von Konigswald: Jack the Ripper plays shuffleboard. -- Happy Birthday, Wanda June by Kurt Vonnegut, c.1970.
        ---------------

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        • #5
          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).
          Last edited by Shaggyrand; 10-22-2015, 08:47 AM. Reason: Adding stuff and junk and stuff
          I’m often irrelevant. It confuses people.

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          • #6
            You bet I want to see it. Please send it to Janis@JanisWilson.com Thanks so much.

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            • #7
              Thanks for your suggestions, which I know are valuable because I love the films you recommended.

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              • #8
                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!
                Pat D. https://forum.casebook.org/core/imag...rt/reading.gif
                ---------------
                Von Konigswald: Jack the Ripper plays shuffleboard. -- Happy Birthday, Wanda June by Kurt Vonnegut, c.1970.
                ---------------

                Comment


                • #9
                  Barrister, I asked Admin to delete your post containing a physical address. You can't be too careful these days.

                  Thanks,

                  JM
                  Last edited by jmenges; 10-22-2015, 11:01 AM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    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.
                    Is it progress when a cannibal uses a fork?
                    - Stanislaw Jerzy Lee

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                    • #11
                      Colin Wilson's 'Ritual in the Dark' is worth a mention.
                      It's the Ripper murders set in London of the 1950s.

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                      • #12
                        Thanks for having my back. I thought it was a private post. Look forward to seeing you in April in Baltimore.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Barrister View Post
                          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

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Mayerling View Post
                            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.
                            I’m often irrelevant. It confuses people.

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                            • #15
                              '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.
                              Last edited by Rosella; 10-24-2015, 07:50 PM.

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