What is the worst Ripper book you've ever read?

[Bailey]

I just finished Prince Jack, and while it was clearly bollocks, it was quite readable, and if you didn't know any better could probably be halfway convincing... Wait, wait, no it couldn't. Murder & Madness was funnier, however

B.

[joelhall]

jack the ripper: a psychic invesigation.

hands down the biggest pile of s**t ever written on the whitechapel murders.

[Khanada]

While Trenouth is the benchmark for crappy Ripper books, I think Spiering's "Prince Jack" is pretty horrendous, as is Abrahamson's "Murder and Madness" (wait, I think I see a trend here....)

I've never read Spiering's JTR tome -- then again, as godawful as his book on Miss Lizzie Borden is, and as much as I loathed it, I'm quite prepared to believe Prince Jack is terrible.

[The Grave Maurice]

Ooooo. That was neatly said. Don't he talk posh? Must be a tour guide or sumfink.

[George Hutchinson]

This 'wine glass' nonsense came from a report of the time that the amount of blood found on the street by the body was only sufficient to have filled a wine glass. It goes along the same lines as a certain tour guide who tells his punters that Liz Stride was clutching bag of cashew nuts instead of cachous breath sweeteners.

The errors on Charles Cross's name are almost excusable now we know his name was Lechmere (or a derivative) anyway! Many people have screwed up the names of Cross and Paul, the great Donald Rumbelow included.

PHILIP

[JustForJolly]

Good point Mike, where did this wine glass come from at the Nichols' murder scene come from? It's the first I've heard of it, but that's not so unusual. And 'George' Cross apparently called John Paul over to examine the body, what was the Pope doing in Whitechapel at 3.45 am? Giving Nichols the last rites?

Elizabeth

[Mike Covell]

The fictional last chapter of Plimmer's book had me actually thinking the whole book was fictional! "What could have happened if Jack was caught!!"

I was waiting for Abberline to offer Jack the wine glass of blood and say "Take it, become one of us!"

[BillyE]

For me it's a toss-up between the books "Prince Jack" by Frank Spiering and "Murder & Madness : the Secret Life of Jack the Ripper" by David Abrahamsen. Both are transparently rediculous, and uses only supposition, and tries to produce faith in the reader of the author's word that the words on the pages are true. Patricia Cornwell's book is up with these books for the same reason. If anyone got more and more angry reading her book, will understand what I'm talking about with these other two books.

[JustForJolly]

Everyone:

For God's sake have mercy and stop writing about these books I've never heard of but am now compelled to read. I made the mistake of starting with Plimmer, apparently the man who found Nichols' body was called George Cross, what was he, a medal? Flower Dean Street! but to be fair he calls it by the correct name further on in the book. Then again I don't know if that makes it worse or better.

And the way he states the bleedin' obvious like; did you know the police now have a tape with 'Police Line-Do Not Cross to cordon off crime scenes? I'm flabbergasted. And the repetition.

The worst abomination tho' is having Abberline punching the air saying; 'Yesss'. Why didn't he just give Arnold a high-five that would have been so much more realistic, if Arnold had been seconded to the investigation from Pinkerton's that is. Abberline as Napoleon Dynamite; 'Yesss'.

Elizabeth

[evilina]

My personal zero is DEATH OF A PRINCE by Annette Han and Ann Ann (published only in Australia, I think). Dear God, it makes you want to burn down public buildings.
PHILIP

I am in complete agreement! This is awful! I think she starts the thing by channelling Queen Mary. I don't think she, Victoria or indeed anyone was amused!

[Magpie]

Rubbish though Pamela Ball's book is, it does have a very high print quality on the images used in the central photo section.

PHILIP

Agreed. It's impossible to take seriously otherwise, but for the $4 I spent I think it was worth it for the photos alone.

[Magpie]

A dissenting view...

Hold on chaps. I think "Epiphany Of The Whitechapel Murders" is quite excellent in some parts--namely those parts that the "author" stole verbatim from casebook. The rest, as they say, is sheer, unadulterated baphomet.


While Trenouth is the benchmark for crappy Ripper books, I think Spiering's "Prince Jack" is pretty horrendous, as is Abrahamson's "Murder and Madness" (wait, I think I see a trend here....)

[needler]

Worst????

Mike, if you're limiting replies to non-fiction then Ball should be very close to the top of the list, and I must admit BLACK MAGIC RITUALS should be there, too.

HOWEVER, if you are including fiction (and, let's face it, a lot of the non-fiction books should be classified as fiction), then the absolute worst, dumbest, most ridiculous, most poorly produced, poorly written, trashiest, doorstop-worthy MUST be BLOODGUILTY. That said, other than those few drawbacks, it was fine........

Cheers,

Judy

[Mike Covell]

Must admit I don't even remember the illustrations......
Steve

Me neither, I could reach up a couple of feet and pull it off the shelf but meh!

[Steve S]

Must admit I don't even remember the illustrations......
Steve