The Desnos' suspect

[DVV]

The French celebrated poet Robert Desnos wrote 9 articles about Jack in 1929.
Amazing work, in which, lastly, he narrated his interview with one "WW", rue d'Assas, in Paris. WW told Desnos about his frienship with Jack (both were from Scotland), the motive of the murders, the travels of Jack after his Whitechapel period.
A very nice book (it is now published in one volume, see Ripper media), atmospheric, mixing facts and legend.
Desnos died in 1945 in a German concentration camp. In Hell.
I wonder if he saw Jack there.
I wish I could translate these writings into English. May be after some years, God willing.

Broken-English poster

[Captain Hook]

I wish I could translate these writings into English. May be after some years, God willing.

Hello DVV,

Desnos's articles have already been translated into English and published in nine issues of Ripperologist a few years ago. If you are interested, I'll look for the reference.

Cheers,
Hook

[DVV]

Many thanks,
are they just translated, or also discussed? My interest is about the sources used by Desnos.
Amitiés,
D

[Captain Hook]

DVV,

Sorry for the delay in replying, but I don't visit the Forums every day.

There was only the translation of the Desnos articles, published over several issues, with some notes. There may have been some discussion in the Forums at the time. I don't remember. Because of Desnos's description of some of the murders and, in particular, of the wounds and mutilations of the victims, one of his sources must have been the book by Lacassagne. He also mentions one of the victim photographs, which may have been the Kelly photograph reproduced in Lacassagne. But there's where the similarities between Desnos's account and reality end. By the way, were youTypo aware that Desnos also mentions the Ripper in his novel La Liberté ou l'amour?

À plus,
Captain Hook

[DVV]

Thanks Captain,
nothing about the novel. The editor (Allia, 2003) did not bust a gut and the bibliographical details are the poorest one can imagine.
There should have been more in Les Cahiers de l'Herne dedicated to Desnos (1987) - which reproduce the articles from Paris-Matinal. Desnos texts are also translated into Italian, with an introduction by Alberto Castoldi (Moretti & Vitali, Bergamo,1995).

An interesting information from the Allia edition: "Within the last article appeared the portrait of Jack the Ripper at the age of 19 (portrait painted by his mistress
Have you ever seen this?!
Amitiés,
David

[Captain Hook]

Salut David,

I have both the Allia edition and the Italian translation, which is very well illustrated, I should say. I remember the remark about the portrait of the Ripper's mistress, but I also believe the publishers said it could not be reproduced in the book. I imagine the portrait could be found in the original series in Paris-Matinal, but I never got round to looking for it.

Mi copy of La Liberte ou l'amour was published by Gallimard in its collection L'imaginaire. Mind you, it's a surrealist novel, as could be expected from Desnos, and the Ripper is only a minor character. The protagonists are Corsaire Sanglot and Louise Lame, but don't hope for much of a narrative.

A plus,
Capitaine Crochet

[DVV]

Salut Crochet,
thanks for the infos.
I just emailed Allia, in case they have the image and can send it to me.
A bientôt,
DVV

[Captain Hook]

Salut David,

Let me know if it works. Any portrait of JTR is better than no portrait at all.

À plus,
Crochet

[DVV]

Salut Crochet,
just got the reply from Allia.
They say they have nothing.
Too bad!

Amitiés,
David