Time Reveals All

[Crystal]

Oh, it isn't that, I'm just blessed with enough self-righteousness to feel the need to correct those who consider the comparison of a document and an individual to be useful or valid, that's all. But I'm so pleased it makes you happy and keeps you posting - whilst your'e ceaselessly amazed, I'm ceaselessly amused, so it works out perfectly!

[thegaff]

Did you read my post of yesterday about the New Post Office? That does away with the Liverpool Poste House nonsense once and for all - I will see if I can find any possible alternatives in London, but as far as I can see, if I can prove that to be false, then the whole thing falls to bits. All you need is one certain and incontrovertible error, and that's it.

Hi Crystal, I used to post here a few years ago and I cannot believe that some people are still entertaining this diary hoax as a theory. I live in Liverpool and at the time I pointed out the Poste House name which is an irrefutable historical error. The author of the diary, Michael Barrett, pointed this out when he confessed to writing it. Added to this the fact that he was also a writer of fiction it takes a lot of determination to still believe in the diary's authenticity.

NTS, the motive for writing the diary is plain and simple - money. As soon as holes started appearing in the story Michael confessed. However his solicitor still tried to keep the Maybrick carnival going as he sensed a nice little earner.

The sad part of this is that anyone who looks back at the JTR case in another 100 years time will be engulfed with stuff about the diary. Will tomorrow's ripperologists know to sort through it or will history have been be rewritten?

[Crystal]

Hi thegaff

You make an interesting point, in that, hoax or not, the 'diary' is now fully embroiled and entrenched in present day perceptions of the JTR case - it must be accorded some importance just because of that. It is interesting to speculate on how future generations would view the Maybrick Diary. I would like to think that like most people today, they would see it as an obvious forgery, but who can say? I agree with what you say - of course it was money that motivated the creation of the diary. The idea clearly came from the Hitler Diaries. What I do find fascinating is that people have invested so much time and effort into its investigation, presumably on the premise that it might actually be genuine. I would suggest that the forgers have not been wholly unsuccessful in their efforts.

I find the trouble is ( and lets just pretend that the author of the diary hadn't actually confessed to writing it - I mean, what more could you ask for? Oh, I'm sure somebody will feel the need to tell me...) that every major issue with the diary has to be addressed by special pleading. If there was only one issue (say, for the sake of example only, the whole 'Poste House' thing) and everything else seemed to be plausible, then I might be more inclined to take it seriously.

But there are just too many problems with it, and that stretches credibility beyond breaking point, in my view.

Let the shouting commence.

[caz]

...of course it was money that motivated the creation of the diary. The idea clearly came from the Hitler Diaries. What I do find fascinating is that people have invested so much time and effort into its investigation, presumably on the premise that it might actually be genuine...

Hi Crystal,

I finally made my way back here and just wondered how you managed to prove that the idea for the diary came from the Hitler Diaries - which, as you appear to be unaware, were very quickly proved modern fakes and their creator put in prison. It would be like watching someone put their head in the fire and thinking it would be a great idea to do the same - except that nobody after 17 years has yet been caught with so much as a singed fringe.

If you seriously think that the late Melvin Harris (or Nick Warren, or Peter Birchwood, the list goes on) invested so much time and effort into investigating the diary on the premise that it might actually be genuine, you really need to start reading the basics. Melvin evidently didn't believe the thing would go away with a quick wave of the tired old 'Hitler Diaries' wand, when he embarked back in 1993 on the debunking mission that was still occupying his time and effort right to the end of his days a decade later.

But what did he know? You may well ask.

Me - my interest has been concerned from the start with the mind behind the diary and why it was created. I'd love to know who did it and exactly when - but just the facts, not theories (we are up to our eyes in theories) based on idle speculation, shallow reasoning and unsupported claims. But I couldn't give a toss what the truth actually is. I just can't see any merit in being satisfied with anything less.

Love,

Caz
X

[Mr Chumley]

Maybrick

Has anyone looked into connections, if they exist with any murders in Portsmouth Isle of Wight, where, if truth exists in this diary his brother was Mayor of Ryde, interestingly classed as "gay" or "having a dislike of women"?

on another tack.....

Has any investigation been made into the carved image on Inspector Abberlines cane that was presented to him, was this intended to be Jack, is the image oriental or foreign looking?

[Graham]

Has anyone looked into connections, if they exist with any murders in Portsmouth Isle of Wight, where, if truth exists in this diary his brother was Mayor of Ryde, interestingly classed as "gay" or "having a dislike of women"?

James Maybrick's brother Michael was also known as Stephen Adams and was one of the most successful composers in his day of popular music and songs. He was indeed Mayor of Ryde for a number of years, and in fact married his housekeeper, so it's doubtful if he was gay (but a man can dislike women without being 'gay'). I don't suppose anyone has investigated murders in the area you suggest, because there isn't any evidence or even a suggestion that Michael Maybrick was homicidal - with the exception that it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he poisoned James. However, I'd suggest you read the books about the Maybrick Case if you want to learn more. Well worth the time and effort.

Cheers,

Graham

[Mr Chumley]

cheers fella, as a newbie, this is all fascinating stuff. I was not suggesting, apart from your interesting comment, that he may have been a murderer himself but if James was the man, who knows, then it is not without a possibility that he needed a place to stay when it got a bit hot up the smoke. I had read a newspaper article, one in the Independant, one I can,t remember ,some time ago about some unsolved murders in this part of the woods, just curious