The 'Suckered!' Trilogy

[David Orsam]

I have been researching the question of what inspectors Andrews and Jarvis were doing in North America in 1888, as well as Superintendent Shore, and I have set out my findings in a trilogy entitled 'Suckered!' the first part of which, for anyone interested, can be accessed via the below link:

http://www.orsam.co.uk/thesuckeredtrilogy.htm

Parts 2 and 3 will follow on very shortly. I will post when they are available.

I hope you enjoy this trilogy.

[Jonathan H]

Dear David

What a fasntastic piece! Congratulations! So beautifullyl written--puts my efforts to shame. I can't wait for the other two parts.

I preume you are going to argue that Evans, Gainey & Palmer were also "suckered", but from a different angle. Fair enough. I love thoughtful and vigorous debate.

[David Orsam]

Thank you very much Jonathan. Part 2 has much to look forward to, including Inspector Andrews' view on whether Francis Tumblety was Jack the Ripper - and the full text of a hitherto undiscovered letter from Sir Robert Anderson to the Home Office of 19 November 1888. I will post when it is available so do watch this space!

[Pcdunn]

I have been researching the question of what inspectors Andrews and Jarvis were doing in North America in 1888, as well as Superintendent Shore, and I have set out my findings in a trilogy entitled 'Suckered!' the first part of which, for anyone interested, can be accessed via the below link:

http://www.orsam.co.uk/thesuckeredtrilogy.htm

Parts 2 and 3 will follow on very shortly. I will post when they are available.

I hope you enjoy this trilogy.

I really enjoyed part 1 of your article, which was very well researched. One thing it seems to highlight is the looser style of American newspapers in the late 19th century, when phrases such as "rumored that" and "supposed to be" were allowed into news stories.

[Wickerman]

Quite the eye-opener David, well done.
I look forward to parts two and three.

[David Orsam]

Thank you Pcdunn and Wickerman. Yes, Pcdunn, the argument that Jarvis and Andrews were doing anything other than they were supposed to is based on highly questionable newspaper reports from North America.

I will be making part 2 available within the next couple of hours.

p.s. thank you also to whoever gave this thread 5 stars.

[David Orsam]

Part 2 now available at the same link:

http://www.orsam.co.uk/thesuckeredtrilogy.htm

It is quite long so, if you are following this trilogy, you might want to set some time aside to read it.

Part 3 will follow soon.

[Jonathan H]

Congratulations!

Another meticulous and brilliantly written piece, David, this time [partly] taking on R. J. Palmer's thesis--an interpretation that I for one subscribe to--that Inspector Walter Andrews was escorting a prisoner as an excuse to investigate Ripper suspect Dr. Tumblety.

What tremendous new sources you have found, and your thoughtful and thought-provoking revisionist take, against two competing interpretations, is very entertaining and very interesting.

I would urge anybody fascinated by the complex jigsaw that is this subject to give these essays a thorough go.

[Mayerling]

Hi David,

Something is wrong - I finished the first part of the trilogy last week, and started reading part two early this morning, but when I just tried to get back onto the blog I couldn't do so. Are you having problems with it?

What I have read is terrific in terms of research. It certainly convinces me that the Atlantic Ocean was a thieves highway for absconding forgers and con-men. But after all, Deeming used it on occasion, and within a year of the incidents of November-December 1888 the world was looking at the "Blenheim Forest" murder in Ontario, Canada, and the career of Reginald Birchall.

Jeff

[David Orsam]

Jonathan - thank you again.

Jeff - yes, I did notice some kind of weird technical issue a short time ago but it seems to have resolved itself now.

[Mayerling]

I was able to read the entire of the second section - and again congratulations on the research.

[David Orsam]

Excellent, thank you Jeff.

Part 3, which is my personal favourite of the trilogy, is now available at the same link:

http://www.orsam.co.uk/thesuckeredtrilogy.htm

[Jonathan H]

Dear David

Congratulations. A very interesting and very well written finale!

I still go with Andrews investigating Dr. Tumblety, but then I was born a snake-healer and I'll die one too.

I urge people, however, to read this trilogy for themselves and make up their own minds.

Cheers Jonathan

[David Orsam]

Thank you for the third time Jonathan, your kind comments throughout this thread have been much appreciated.

You also provide me with the welcome opportunity of making the additional point that if Andrews had been researching Tumblety during his week in Toronto, in the same way that Jarvis later researched Cream, then it simply would not have been possible for this to have been kept secret bearing in mind that Andrews would have had to openly speak to ordinary residents of Toronto about Tumblety, so that his mission would, by definition, have become public knowledge. Yet, there is not a single newspaper report of Andrews having questioned anyone at all about Tumblety which is extraordinary if this is what he had been doing. The evidence from the Home Office files reveals clearly and unequivocally, to my eye at least, that the fact that Andrews happened to spend a week in one of the many cities in North America that Tumblety had visited in his life was nothing more than pure coincidence. Moreover, if there is a single piece of evidence, or even persuasive argument, that Andrews was doing anything at all relating to Tumblety in Toronto then I must have missed it when I read Mr Palmer's trilogy.

[Mayerling]

I just finished the last part of the essay, and you have a wonderful job all around.

Since I was in "H.M.S. Pinafore" when I was twelve years old (in a school production), I'll add to "Things are seldom what they seem"..."So they be...frequently."

Jeff