Jack the Ripper's Secret Confession-(Monaghan, 2010)

[David Monaghan]

Hi Holly.

I know what you mean! It's hard to nail down the right guy, but Cavendish Bentink was a Member of Parliament who strongly opposed W.T. Stead's movement, apparently because he enjoyed prostitutes. According to Monaghan, he was implicated in the Cleveland Street scandal. I need to learn much more about this, as my interest lies in the fact that his stepmother in 1891 became a victim of my preferred Ripper suspect, who threatened her with blackmail and murder, in letters and postcards written in red ink, referencing the Whitechapel murders. It seems he knew her personally, and possibly her stepson. Since he was a pimp, I wonder if he didn't provide Cavendish Bentink with women or underage girls. I'm also curious to know if there's a connection to the Cavendish murder victim of Phoenix Park fame.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

Tom,
liking the sound of your guy.
There was huge political resentment against Stead from 1885 for hi-jacking parliament and forcing through the criminal amendments Bill. The misfortune is that it is remembered for making homosexual acts illegal, yet that was a plug on from Stead's intention to raise the age of consent to stamp out child prostituion (in fact Stead was the chosen megaphone of Josephine Butler's and the Salvation Army's Catherine Booth in forcing through the age of consent increase). The parliamentary politics at the time as you know was labyrinthian, and I'd recommend Christy Campbell's Fenian Fire as one of the best on the real-politik, and it's domination by the Irish home rule question and sinister secret policing (much by the men in charge of teh Ripper case). That book may also help you on the Phoenix Park background. Pimp's as a possibility for the Ripper are intriguing. My Walter suspect ran the books of a posh West End brothel as a younger man, and was baiting Mary Davis on working elsewhere to earn more for her sexual services. Cavendish Bentinck is a good candidate for Stead's "London Minotaur", but frustratingly the Minotaur's identity remains illusive.
What also came out of 1885 and the Stead/Cavendish clash was the Vigilance Committees. Stead published the guide to setting them up at the peak of the Maiden's Tribute campaign. Fastforward three years, and a Vigilance Committee get's half a kidney. The political meaning of sending a Vigilance Committe such a scare letter has been much underestimated. The Committee's had very specific political meaning in the late 1880s, far more nuanced that simply gentlemen keeping a protective eye of womenfolk. Stead advocated they use publicity, self generated prosecutions, and encourage blackmail of those using underage girls for sex. A main vector for such girls with older prostitute procuresses.

Regards

David Monaghan
Author
Jack the Ripper's Secret Confession

[David Monaghan]

Doris,
Congratulations for having waded through my My Secret Life!! It is a bizarre and tough read - but I too thought some bits quite funny. My favourite for bonkers Victorian imagery is when Nelly wins eighty-four shillings she held in her ‘cuntal purse’. Walter, once again, had been scanning the paper for dirty
stories when he was inspired to wager with his prostitute paramour. ‘Talking with her about a woman
who had been taken up for robbing a man, and had kept the stolen
trinket in her **** for two days before it was found there. (This was
told in obscure language in the newspapers.) I doubted the possibility.
Nelly averred that it was easy, and it ended in my going out to get the
silver, putting forty shillings up her ****, and seeing her walk up and
down the room naked, holding the money in that feminine receptacle.
Then she squatted over a pot, and the money dropped out.’

Horribly rude, but coarsely amusing.

Regards
David Monaghan
Author
My Secret Life

[Tom_Wescott]

Regards
David Monaghan
Author
My Secret Life

Walter identified at last!

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[belinda]

Not only informative but useful too. Now I know where to stash my dosh

[Celesta]

Looks like I'll have to order this one.

[Triplesod]

Now this sounds like an interesting theory. Has anyone ever made the link between Walter and JtR before? If someone did, I must have missed it.

Ha!

Yeah. Well.... me, actually.

I doubt I mentioned it here or anywhere really but I got quite interested in the writer/character 2 or 3 years back when the BBC showed some programs about him.

There were a couple of things that, when you have a life where Jack is always present around one corner or another, really had me questioning the chances and when I found that the years worked, I formed my own little pet theory... well, for a night or two, anyway

I'll look forward to this book, anyway.

[The Good Michael]

My opinion: My Secret Life reads like BS. It appears to be an early attempt at pornography with all the lewdness one might expect. It is strange and unabashed, but it doesn't seem real. Neither does it seem to be something that I would associate with JTR being utterly, openly sexual, when the debate of sexual intent in the Whitechapel murders has strong arguments for either side. Still, the book may be a good read.

Cheers,

Mike

[Hamrammr]

Hmm...

I have to agree with The Good Michael. I have only had a brief scan through My Secret Life, but working with fiction in my daily job I would say that it is no more than a protracted, pronographic version of a penny dreadful, designed to shock and titillate. I would be very suprised if it was a genuine diary. The pace and sequence of events occur too rapidly for it to be believable. If it were real surely the man would have died from exhaustion before reaching his thirties!

It does however give us an insight into the underbelly of the times we can be useful for psychological research. And presumably the person who did write it must have had some kind of similar experience.

[Hunter]

"Nelly averred that it was easy, and it ended in my going out to get the
silver, putting forty shillings up her ****, and seeing her walk up and
down the room naked, holding the money in that feminine receptacle.
Then she squatted over a pot, and the money dropped out.’

Well... there goes the old tuck the money down the blouse routine.

Belinda
Not only informative but useful too. Now I know where to stash my dosh

One thing's for certain, you would sure get store patrons' attention when you started hopping around to make change.

__________________

[belinda]

All part of my cunning plan. When they see where it's been I'm betting they won't want change

[The Grave Maurice]

I'm sorry, did you say "cunning"?

[David Monaghan]

My Secret Life - fact or fiction?

I have to agree with The Good Michael. I have only had a brief scan through My Secret Life, but working with fiction in my daily job I would say that it is no more than a protracted, pronographic version of a penny dreadful, designed to shock and titillate. I would be very suprised if it was a genuine diary. The pace and sequence of events occur too rapidly for it to be believable. If it were real surely the man would have died from exhaustion before reaching his thirties! It does however give us an insight into the underbelly of the times we can be useful for psychological research. And presumably the person who did write it must have had some kind of similar experience.

Dear Hamrammr,
I am rather impressed your job in fiction has given you just powers to discern the truth. I did not have te benefit of your wisdom when writing my book. I relied upon the 20th centuries greatest scholars in Victorian history and literature to base my opinion instead. Gershon Legon, Steven Marcus and Phyllis & Eberhard Kronhausen all agreed the diary was not a work of fiction per se. The trial of publisher Authur Dobson in 1969 featured broad conclusion between prosecutor and defence that, unlike says Lady Chatterley, My Secret was non-fiction. (though interestingly, Lady Chatterley was very much a veiled description of actual people and events).
The manuscript of My Secret Life claims to be rewritten from the daily
diary of the author, Walter. He includes raw extracts to demonstrate his
technique. ‘Here from my manuscript are two extracts illustrative of my
notes as written almost day by day at that period – many and many a
page there was of them . . . 21 January.’ ‘A funny little bitch about four
feet six high, thin.’ ‘A modest looking juvenile ****.’ ‘One of the smallest
I ever put into – quite tight as I pushed my penis up it – hurt me as I
pulled prick out quite stiff – I’d spent, tho I feared – washed.’ ‘“You’re
in a hurry,’ said she light-haired, squinny face. 23 March’ ‘A hairy arsed,
low, she.’ ‘Wonder I poked her, glad to get away – ten and six – dirty
rooms.’ (MSL, Vol. 7, Chapter 6). He claims he referred to these original diary entries and hand wrote the chapters. They are very different from penny dreadful writing, with certainly unlike the polished works of pornography such as The Flea, to which they were contemporary. In his eccentric work, Walter also wrote essays on such subjects
as ‘cunts’ and ‘copulation’, written as factual descriptions. These
fed into political opinions on sex such as ‘The philosophy of *******
virgins and juveniles’ and ‘Fornication philosophy of the poor’. Walter
finally announced his own ‘philosophy of fornication’: ‘There can be no
indecency, or impropriety in women or men amusing themselves any way
they like in private’. (MSL Vol. 10, Chapter 7). Among other purposes,
Walter intended his work to be appreciated as a political tract relevant to
its time.
I am keen to see views of the intelligent scholars of the Whitechapel Murders say their piece on the relevance of My Secret Life to the crimes. The dismiss the works as "bullshit" is the sort of puerile drivel I had first glanced on Ripper forums that kept me from joining them for many years - until closer studied provided me wrong and I could salute their contirbution to understanding from those willing to consider new ideas.
Go forth and read either Walter's book, or perhaps glance at mine. Come back and disagree with the conclusions. But I do hope you'll find the insights to predatory sexual behaviour by men in Victorian London is certainly worth considering.
And that aint no BS
David Monaghan
Author
Jack the Ripper's Secret Confession

[belinda]

I'm sorry, did you say "cunning"?

Thought I might sneak that one past

[Celesta]

My opinion: My Secret Life reads like BS. It appears to be an early attempt at pornography with all the lewdness one might expect. It is strange and unabashed, but it doesn't seem real. Neither does it seem to be something that I would associate with JTR being utterly, openly sexual, when the debate of sexual intent in the Whitechapel murders has strong arguments for either side. Still, the book may be a good read.

Cheers,

Mike

Hmmm. Maybe I'll put this one off awhile, afterall, Mike.

[The Good Michael]

Hmmm. Maybe I'll put this one off awhile, afterall, Mike.

Cel,

Maybe David has created a convincing argument. I'm keen on giving it a go. I was referring to 'My Secret Life' as BS.

Cheers,

Mike