Inspiration for the Fake 'Diary'

[caz]

Is he up for an inteview then ?

If you mean an 'interview', Trev, I have no idea.

But Scotland Yard, Melvin Harris and wild horses were unable to drag anything useful out of Mike concerning the diary's true origins, so don't raise your hopes.

Love,

Caz
X

[Simon Wood]

Hi Lynn,

Thank you. Yes, you're right.

He was the character who sang the Maybrickites' theme song, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."

Regards,

Simon

[Trevor Marriott]

If you mean an 'interview', Trev, I have no idea.

But Scotland Yard, Melvin Harris and wild horses were unable to drag anything useful out of Mike concerning the diary's true origins, so don't raise your hopes.

Love,

Caz
X

Well Simon asked vaild question about who made the complaint for the police to get involved etc I would love to hear the answers to as you seem to be fully aufait with all of this.

And pehaps you would care to enligten us as to what you have been keeping back as you regularly intimate on here. After all this time what harm is there to tell all.

I think I mighy just track Mr Barrett down and see how good his memory is !

[PaulB]

Hi All,

After recently reading through all the various claims and counter claims about the fake Maybrick Diary I must admit to having come away with the vague notion that Mike Barrett's middle name may have been Patsy.

One thing which continues to intrigue me is what [or whom] prompted Scotland Yard to investigate the "Diary" for fraud.

Who was being defrauded, aside from a gullible reading public?

Regards,

Simon

I believe it was the Sunday Times.

[PaulB]

Well Simon asked vaild question about who made the complaint for the police to get involved etc I would love to hear the answers to as you seem to be fully aufait with all of this.

And pehaps you would care to enligten us as to what you have been keeping back as you regularly intimate on here. After all this time what harm is there to tell all.

I think I mighy just track Mr Barrett down and see how good his memory is !

There's a book you could read that explains it all.

[Simon Wood]

Hi Paul,

Thanks. You beat me to it.

Regards,

Simon

[John Bennett]

Believe what you want, Trevor. But as you haven't read the books, haven't read the articles, have undertaken any investigations into the diary of your own, probably haven't seen, handled, examined the diary itself, haven't met and questioned any of those involved, weren't with the police when they undertook their fraud investigations, and weren't ever up half the night with phone calls from a drunken Mike Barrett, I really don't think you are in much of a position to dispute what I say or, indeed, comment. And frankly, since I know and witnessed that man in his state of mental turmoil, I'm not really much interested whether you think the affidavit paints the picture or not. It's pretty much what happened, is what I witnessed.

Here speaks the voice of experience.

It is very easy to judge the 'dinosaurs' (as some people call them) of Ripperology, but one thing that must be remembered is that your Beggs, Evans's, Skinners, Fidos and certainly your Rumbelows, Wilsons and Odells have been there and seen it all, which because of their profile has led them to be party to so much extra information that we don't have a clue how much they really know. For example, have a chat with Mark Galloway, founder of the Whitechapel Society and you become aware of so many things that have happened around incidents we all think we know loads about.

OK, these guys may confess to finding it difficult to keep abreast of the torrent of new developments, but what they have accrued over the years is gold dust. If you ever get the chance to hear Paul Begg talk about his involvement with Patricia Cornwell's work, you'll see how easy it is to have a different opinion, because he was THERE and in the middle of it all.

JB

[Casebook Wiki Editor]

One thing which continues to intrigue me is what [or whom] prompted Scotland Yard to investigate the "Diary" for fraud.

Who was being defrauded, aside from a gullible reading public?

The Sunday Times turned the results of their "research" effort over to New Scotland Yard, who were then obligated to investigate whether the publisher (Robert Smith) had knowingly peddled a forgery.

It's not clear to me the Sunday Times ever sincerely intended to serialize the Diary, or just wanted to appear ahead of the curve unlike the Hitler Diaries fiasco. They certainly got a good story for cheap.

[Steven Russell]

I've recently been re-reading Paul Feldman's JtR: The Final Chapter (paperback) and was struck by this on page 341. It is an extract from Illustrated Mirror dated 16th September 1889.

"A gentleman is making the rounds of the publishers, with what he claims to be the diary of Mrs Maybrick. The diary, he says, was found in a trunk after the conviction of Mrs Maybrick...
"We are not exactly convinced of the genuineness of the document, although so far as we can glean the genuineness of them [sic] is guaranteed. The object of those into whose hands the alleged diary has fallen appears to be to publish a 'shilling shocker'..."

Could this be the inspiration for the Anne Barrett / Billy Graham story of the provenance of what we now call the Maybrick Diary? Also the reason given by AB for giving the diary to her husband: she says she thought he could write a novel around it.

I can't tell from Feldman whether or not the Illustrated Mirror is a Liverpool paper. Anyone know?

Best wishes,
Steve.

[Carol]

Hello Steve,

The paper might be 'Stuart Cumberland's Illustrated Mirror' which he ran weekly from 1889-1892. Cumberland was a celebrated Victorian 'mind reader'.

I found this on the Society for Psychical Research website.

Carol

[Steven Russell]

Thanks, Carol. Yes, that's it.

Best wishes,
Steve.

[caz]

I've recently been re-reading Paul Feldman's JtR: The Final Chapter (paperback) and was struck by this on page 341. It is an extract from Illustrated Mirror dated 16th September 1889.

"A gentleman is making the rounds of the publishers, with what he claims to be the diary of Mrs Maybrick. The diary, he says, was found in a trunk after the conviction of Mrs Maybrick...
"We are not exactly convinced of the genuineness of the document, although so far as we can glean the genuineness of them [sic] is guaranteed. The object of those into whose hands the alleged diary has fallen appears to be to publish a 'shilling shocker'..."

Hi Steven,

It's funny how different minds see something like this and come up with completely different ideas.

My first thought was that if Mr Maybrick's notorious diary had been doing the rounds at that time, I could well imagine it being described as a 'shilling shocker' (as opposed to a penny dreadful). I don't suppose anyone reading it in September 1889 would have considered it to be anything else. I find it quite similar in style to some of the satirical, or burlesque pieces that appeared in Punch between 1888 and 1889.

Wouldn't it be intriguing if the diary of Mrs Maybrick was written along similar lines and they were meant to be companion pieces? A pity that hers doesn't seem to have surfaced or survived. Might answer a lot of questions!

Love,

Caz
X

[ChrisGeorge]

I've recently been re-reading Paul Feldman's JtR: The Final Chapter (paperback) and was struck by this on page 341. It is an extract from Illustrated Mirror dated 16th September 1889.

"A gentleman is making the rounds of the publishers, with what he claims to be the diary of Mrs Maybrick. The diary, he says, was found in a trunk after the conviction of Mrs Maybrick...
"We are not exactly convinced of the genuineness of the document, although so far as we can glean the genuineness of them [sic] is guaranteed. The object of those into whose hands the alleged diary has fallen appears to be to publish a 'shilling shocker'..."

Could this be the inspiration for the Anne Barrett / Billy Graham story of the provenance of what we now call the Maybrick Diary? Also the reason given by AB for giving the diary to her husband: she says she thought he could write a novel around it.

Best wishes,
Steve.

Hi Steve

I think the supposed diary of Mrs. Maybrick, if it ever existed beyond rumor, had nothing to do with the existing Maybrick Diary. No, someone had the very bright idea to make James Maybrick into Jack the Ripper. It's likely that the coincidence of dates and Maybrick's shady personal life as an arsenic addict was responsible for that inspiration. The dual centennial of the Ripper crimes (1988) and of the Maybrick Case (1989), the latter being publicized in Liverpool to the extent of a recreated trial of Mrs. Maybrick in St. George's Hall, venue for her original August - September 1889 trial, could have led to someone concocting the diary if it was indeed created circa 1988-1989 or soon thereafter.

Best regards

Chris

[Steven Russell]

Hi Steve

I think the supposed diary of Mrs. Maybrick, if it ever existed beyond rumor, had nothing to do with the existing Maybrick Diary. No, someone had the very bright idea to make James Maybrick into Jack the Ripper. It's likely that the coincidence of dates and Maybrick's shady personal life as an arsenic addict was responsible for that inspiration. The dual centennial of the Ripper crimes (1988) and of the Maybrick Case (1989), the latter being publicized in Liverpool to the extent of a recreated trial of Mrs. Maybrick in St. George's Hall, venue for her original August - September 1889 trial, could have led to someone concocting the diary if it was indeed created circa 1988-1989 or soon thereafter.

Best regards

Chris

Hello, Chris.
Agreed. What I was driving at was the possibility that Anne or Billy had come across the Illustrated Mirror article and decided that "found in a trunk" would be a more believeable story than just having the trail go cold at Tony Devereux. Anne may also have been inspired by the article to claim she indirectly gave the diary to Mike so he could use it as the basis for a work of fiction.

Whether Florie's diary existed or not is irrelevant. My point is that the IM article could have put certain ideas into certain heads.

Best wishes,
Steve.

PS I like your idea too, Caz. The same tale told from two different (fictional) points of view.

[Casebook Wiki Editor]

What I was driving at was the possibility that Anne or Billy had come across the Illustrated Mirror article

Do you seriously believe that Anne or Billy were capable of that type of research circa 1990?

Anne got fed a lot of her "research" by Feldman

And Billy? Billy???