Doctor Bluitt

[Wolf Vanderlinden]

Very interesting stuff. I wonder, though, why no one has mentioned Major Arthur Griffiths as a possible source for Richardson's Bluitt story. After all he had published Macnaghten's Ripper theory, without any names, as early as 1898 so the drowned doctor was already in the public domain.

Wolf.

[Chris]

Just for completeness, here are the remaining references to Jack the Ripper in "The Worst Man in the World".

The novel's hero is suspected of having murdered the nephew of his host, and also of possibly being Jack the Ripper. One might be tempted to make something of the fact that the hero is a barrister who viewed being at the Bar as "an excuse for not having a profession" - and even perhaps of the fact that it was an Inspector MacBrayne who suspected him of being Jack the Ripper - except that the hero is presumably modelled on Richardson himself, and the novel is set in Scotland and is full of funny-sounding Scottish names. Inspector MacBrayne is "the Sherlock Holmes of Forfarshire".

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[Chris]

I'm inclined to think that George Sims played an important role in this story, as Robert suggested above.

On page 26 of "The Worst Man ...", a bald cranium is described as "an ideal case for Mr. George R. Sims", and perhaps more tellingly, on the page before the passage about Doctor Bluitt, there is the following: "But who can hope for triumph till he has felt the bitterness of a least one failure? What literary man of to-day has invented a really good hair-restorer at his first attempt?" - surely an oblique reference to Sims.

Sims was a member of one of Richardson's clubs - the Devonshire (Philip J. Waller, Writers, readers, and reputations: literary life in Britain, 1870-1918 (2006), p. 344 - available through Google Books).

Moreover, the phrase Richardson uses twice of the Ripper - "flung himself raving into the Thames" - and its juxtaposition with "his masterpiece in Miller's Court" - strongly echo the language of Sims in his Lloyd's Weekly News article of 22 September 1907:
"It would be impossible for the author of the Miller's-court horror to have lived a life of apparent sanity one single day after that maniacal deed. He was a raving madman them and a raving madman when he flung himself in the Thames."

That article was published the year before "The Worst Man in the World", perhaps at the time it was being written. It also contains the phrase "homicidal mania" that Andy drew attention to earlier.

[Natalie Severn]

A brilliant find Chris, so congratulations!
It seems ,however,to have prompted a spate of slightly inappropriate and unseemly "imagery" concerning those sad souls who drowned themselves in the Thames."Flinging" themselves "raving" into its swirling waters suggests they were having some kind of riotous "fun time" [-albeit madly experienced]-whereas the truth is probably a lot quieter and far more despairing.
Best Wishes
Norma

[Chris]

Norma

Unfortunately there's quite a lot of language in the novel that seems inappropriate to me - a surprising amount of casual anti-semitism, for example. Though the description of the suicide does seem to have been borrowed from Sims. The humour hasn't aged very well either, but judging from the number of books he published it must have found a reasonable market at the time.

[Natalie Severn]

Hi Chris,
The style of writing in Victorian England was much more colourful and florid than today ofcourse.
Best
Norma

[jason_c]

I'm inclined to think that George Sims played an important role in this story, as Robert suggested above.

On page 26 of "The Worst Man ...", a bald cranium is described as "an ideal case for Mr. George R. Sims", and perhaps more tellingly, on the page before the passage about Doctor Bluitt, there is the following: "But who can hope for triumph till he has felt the bitterness of a least one failure? What literary man of to-day has invented a really good hair-restorer at his first attempt?" - surely an oblique reference to Sims.

Sims was a member of one of Richardson's clubs - the Devonshire (Philip J. Waller, Writers, readers, and reputations: literary life in Britain, 1870-1918 (2006), p. 344 - available through Google Books).

Moreover, the phrase Richardson uses twice of the Ripper - "flung himself raving into the Thames" - and its juxtaposition with "his masterpiece in Miller's Court" - strongly echo the language of Sims in his Lloyd's Weekly News article of 22 September 1907:
"It would be impossible for the author of the Miller's-court horror to have lived a life of apparent sanity one single day after that maniacal deed. He was a raving madman them and a raving madman when he flung himself in the Thames."

That article was published the year before "The Worst Man in the World", perhaps at the time it was being written. It also contains the phrase "homicidal mania" that Andy drew attention to earlier.

Chris, if it was Sims who gave Richardson the information on the ripper then he(Sims) must have know the name of Druitt, rather than simply Dr D.

[Chris]

Chris, if it was Sims who gave Richardson the information on the ripper then he(Sims) must have know the name of Druitt, rather than simply Dr D.

Yes, that is the puzzling thing, as I pointed out earlier.

[Johnr]

George R Sims The inventor of " Tatcho".

Chris in his very useful Frank Richardson discoveries, posted a link to one of FCR's booksShavings: Eveliegh Nash: London: 1911).

At page 72 is a verse dedicated: " To George Robert Sims (the Inventor of Tatcho").

It doesn't say much, basically, that every man who needs a shave has the means nearby, to do so. JOHN RUFFELS.

[Johnr]

What Clubs Did Farquharson Belong To?

Do you remember that Farquharsons 'almost ossession', was purveyed to anyone who would listen?

It seemed Farquharson's enthusiasm for the subject was only curbed by (possibly) friendly advice offered to him (by a certain failed author and lawyer??
Or even an ex-Home Secretary and Western Circuitman..(Mathews), that what Farquharson was suggestiing about a dead professional man, and jolly fine cricketer- whose troubled mind had prompted his suicide - was damn well beyond the pale and jolly bad form.
And hadn't this Farquharson fellow stirred up another bad-taste contraversy
about another political candidate before?
Quite rightly, the courts had slapped a pretty stiff fine on Farquharson, and served him right!
If he wasn't careful, the same might happen again! JOHN RUFFELS.

[ChrisGeorge]

Chris, if it was Sims who gave Richardson the information on the ripper then he(Sims) must have know the name of Druitt, rather than simply Dr D.

Hello Jason

I presume you are saying Sims did not know Druitt's full name on the basis of the wording of the Littlechild letter to Sims in which Littlechild refers to a "Dr. D". However that might not mean Sims didn't know the full name at all. It could be a coy way to refer to the drowned man either on the part of Littlechild or Sims or both. As an example, Howard Brown at JtR Foruims regularly refers to Paul Begg as "Mr. B". The full name could have been mentioned in an earlier letter from Sims to Littlechild, or else the two men could have met at a gentleman's club somewhere and the full name mentioned, and Littlechild was following up with these thoughts in a letter.

All the best

Chris

[jason_c]

Hello Jason

I presume you are saying Sims did not know Druitt's full name on the basis of the wording of the Littlechild letter to Sims in which Littlechild refers to a "Dr. D". However that might not mean Sims didn't know the full name at all. It could be a coy way to refer to the drowned man either on the part of Littlechild or Sims or both. As an example, Howard Brown at JtR Foruims regularly refers to Paul Begg as "Mr. B". The full name could have been mentioned in an earlier letter from Sims to Littlechild, or else the two men could have met at a gentleman's club somewhere and the full name mentioned, and Littlechild was following up with these thoughts in a letter.

All the best

Chris

Chris, thanks for your reply.

Im actually of the opinion that Sims likely knew Druitts name. Im not sure the scenario you describe fits with the rest of Littlechild's letter. Littlechild mentions that D can be easily be misheard as T. This then leads to his advocating Tumblety's candidacy.

Of course D and T can easily be mistaken for each other, as can Druitt and lets say Hewitt. Druitt and Tumblety cannot. There is little way to mistake even the life stories of Tumblety and Druitt. One sadly drowned tragically after a fairly mediocre life, the other charismatic, flash, American and fled Scotland Yards justice. To me this suggests any prior discussion of a Dr D would have been sparse at best.

If Sims was being coy about giving the full name of Druitt, i think it likely he was protecting MM or Anderson of accusations of telling tales out of school, or to protect Druitt's family.

[ChrisGeorge]

Chris, thanks for your reply.

Im actually of the opinion that Sims likely knew Druitts name. Im not sure the scenario you describe fits with the rest of Littlechild's letter. Littlechild mentions that D can be easily be misheard as T. This then leads to his advocating Tumblety's candidacy.

Of course D and T can easily be mistaken for each other, as can Druitt and lets say Hewitt. Druitt and Tumblety cannot. There is little way to mistake even the life stories of Tumblety and Druitt. One sadly drowned tragically after a fairly mediocre life, the other charismatic, flash, American and fled Scotland Yards justice. To me this suggests any prior discussion of a Dr D would have been sparse at best.

If Sims was being coy about giving the full name of Druitt, i think it likely he was protecting MM or Anderson of accusations of telling tales out of school, or to protect Druitt's family.

Hello Jason

You say, "Littlechild mentions that D can be easily be misheard as T." This can be read as a witticism.

As I indicated in my post, it's possible that both men knew Druitt's full name.

The trouble with interpreting the Littlechild letter, as with the Swanson marginalia, is that both the letter and the marginalia were meant to be private and not for public consideration. In these circumstances, the men -- Littlechild writing to Sims, and, separately, Swanson writing notes for himself in a copy of his former superior's memoirs -- did not have to fully explain themselves. We today are bringing our own interpretations to what in essence are private notes and perhaps at the same time misconstruing the implications of what they wrote.

If Sims was being coy about giving the full name of Druitt, i think it likely he was protecting MM or Anderson of accusations of telling tales out of school, or to protect Druitt's family.

Yes, you could be exactly right. Once again, if the circumstances were that the full name had been mentioned between the men in a prior letter or exchange of letters, or else in an actual in-person discussion between the men, they would not have to risk putting it in a letter since they both knew what "D" stood for.

All the best

Chris

[Chris]

As I indicated in my post, it's possible that both men knew Druitt's full name.

Let's remember what Littlechild actually wrote:
"I never heard of a Dr D. in connection with the Whitechapel murders but amongst the suspects, and to my mind a very likely one, was a Dr. T. (which sounds much like D.)"

Surely that makes it clear enough that Littlechild didn't know who Sims was talking about, but that he was guessing that "Dr T" might have been misheard as "Dr D".

[ChrisGeorge]

Let's remember what Littlechild actually wrote:
"I never heard of a Dr D. in connection with the Whitechapel murders but amongst the suspects, and to my mind a very likely one, was a Dr. T. (which sounds much like D.)"

Surely that makes it clear enough that Littlechild didn't know who Sims was talking about, but that he was guessing that "Dr T" might have been misheard as "Dr D".

Sorry, yes, Chris, you are absolutely correct. I wrote my post without doublechecking the exact wording of the Littlechild letter. Many thanks for your corrective note.

Best regards

Chris