New Book - The Ripper Code

[Gideon Fell]

I see that there is a new Ripper book out, or about to come out, The Ripper Code by Thomas Toughill. No doubt the title is derived from Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, cashing in on a best-selling title.

I think that Toughill's suspect is Frank Miles the homosexual artist and contemporary of Oscar Wilde. Hardly a new suspect though as Toughill's theory was described by Colin Wilson in the introduction to Rumbelow's 1975 book. Obviously Toughill has found a publisher for the theory after thirty plus years. According to Toughill, Oscar Wilde based the character of Dorian Gray on Miles. Apparently Miles had connections with the Duke of Clarence (his cousin was the Duke's equerry) and M. J. Druitt whose brother was in Miles's regiment. Also, to set the seal on the theory, Melville Macnaghten was a neighbour of Wilde, and Miles, in Tite Street (such a poetic name).

[Mike Covell]

I stumbled across the book today whilst out doing some research and decided to buy it.
At £20 I thought it was a bit steep but the book is quite thick, well presented and seem's like a fun read.

I have yet to read the book, but a quick flick through the pages reveals lots of names and dates, yet little is sourced, and there is no index.

The author includes a bibliography, but doesn't state were the books were used.

There are some decent pictures, some of the Druitt stuff I have never seen before.

Its available on Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ripper-Code-Thomas-Toughill/dp/0750948752

or via Sutton Publishing

https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk

[Graham]

Hi Mike.

As it goes, I used to share an office with a bloke who knew Thomas Toughill, then of Glasgow. This was back in the 1970's, and even then my colleague was aware of Toughill's theory even though he, my colleague, had no real interest in the Ripper. Until now I wasn't aware that Toughill had written a full-length book. Gideon Fell's comments notwithstanding, I should say it's worth a read.

The cover-illustration of Oscar Wilde is apposite, but to say any more will spoil your enjoyment of the book!

Happy reading!

Graham

[Stephen Thomas]

So what's the Ripper Code?

[Stephen Thomas]

What's the Ripper Code?

[Stephen Thomas]

Such a good question it's worth asking twice

[Graham]

What's the Ripper Code?

Well, it's this code, see, that has to do with Jack the Ripper. Simple, eh?

Cheers,

Dan Brown's biggest fan

[Mike Covell]

A brief explaination of the Ripper Code

The code is hidden within the text of the book, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and points to one of Oscar Wildes friends being the Ripper.

It is quite common in Ripperology for authors to look at suspects works and turn them into messages,
Light Hearted Friend,
Revealed and Revisited,
End to a legend,

all contain hidden messages, the title, I guess, is a cash in on Dan Brown's Da-Vinci Code.

I initially thought the author was going to claim the killer had the Jesus bloodline!!

[Tom_Wescott]

I've been studying Mike Covell's posts for the last few weeks now and have discovered a code written within them that identifies Covell as both Lord Lucan and the man on the grassy knoll. I'm now seeking a big publisher and an even bigger lawyer.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

Having finally managed to purchase a WW2 Enigma machine on Ebay for $19.95 (plus shipping and handling), I've finally managed to crack the Ripper Code.

It's CPMMPDLT—akin to Dan Brown's book and subsequent movie.

Regards,

Simon

[Cap'n Jack]

I got it, Simon:

'Can't Put Much More Putty Down Lav Tom'.

It must have been Dan, Norder I mean.

[Mike Covell]

I've been studying Mike Covell's posts for the last few weeks now and have discovered a code written within them that identifies Covell as both Lord Lucan and the man on the grassy knoll. I'm now seeking a big publisher and an even bigger lawyer.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

When you have it right, you don't need a lawyer!!

Right, I'm off to Goa.....

[Jeff Leahy]

Ho Ha me harties! tis a fine and fair wind that blows me hear..

I'm still lookin' for me copy of the 'Code'

but gather that the title aside (commercial reasons) it contains some interestin' history..

Includin' a sexy young model, and flower girl, who ended up entwined with the elite of the day..

It may not be the Ripper... but sounds like a Ripper..and a tall tale to boot..

Ah ha

Jeff

[Mike Covell]

I just dropped into the Local Waterstones to find lots of copies of this book onsale, on a giant table with a sign saying "Crime Fiction"

Thats going to damage sales!!

[The Grave Maurice]

As has been mentioned elsewhere on these boards, Ripper authors would be wise to follow the example set by writers such as Chris Scott in his Will the Real Mary Kelly…?, and by Robert McLaughlin in The First JtR Victim Photographs. They establish that every book on the subject doesn’t have to recapitulate the entire history of all the murders. It is perfectly acceptable for an author to assume that readers know the background, and to launch immediately into the new theory. (I’d make an exception for books such as Robert and Philip’s TLoJtRTaN: their succinct summary of the murders not only provided new information but was, so far as I can recall, error free.)

Such an approach would have been beneficial with this book. Toughill’s thesis is the one he propounded over thirty years ago, namely that JtR was Frank Miles, Oscar Wilde’s one-time companion and housemate, and that Wilde incorporated clues to this fact into his novel, The Picture of Dorian Grey. Toughill elaborates on this theory in the second half of the book and explores the relationships (or supposed relationships) among people such as Wilde, Miles, Macnaughten, Druitt, Lily Langtry, and Marie Belloc Lowndes. This part of the book is quite interesting. Toughill’s theory is clever, well thought out, and carefully presented: it is an entertaining if, ultimately, unconvincing concept.

But the first half of the book….dear, oh dear. It is riddled with errors and misstatements. Here are a few chosen at random:

-Nichols' body was discovered by George Cross
-Fred Chapman was a veterinary surgeon
-29 Hanbury Street was a two-storyed house
-Thomas Coram found a knife in the Whitechapel Road at 12:30 a.m. on September 30, instead of October 1
-The well-known East End MP was Simon Montague, not Samuel Montagu
-Flesh was draped over the nails in MJK's room
-Inaccurately transcribes the official version of the Macnaughten memorandum
-No picture with the title "The Fisherman's Widow" can be traced
-MJK's eyes were photographed in the hope of detecting the image of her killer
-Two clay pipes were found in Catherine Eddowes' apron which the killer tied around her neck after tearing off a piece to take with him

There are others, but I’ll stop there. Toughill has been around Ripperology far too long to be making these kinds of errors. It’s as though he wrote the first half of the book over a weekend, from memory, in order to bring it up to a marketable size. The sloppiness of the first half harms the credibility of the second.

It is an attractive volume, as is common with those bearing the Sutton imprint. But the publishers might have spent more on editing and less on production: the text has too many typos and omitted words, and the book could really use an index. It is interesting to see Toughill’s theory finally presented in full, but, after all this time, the presentation should have been much better.