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I believe there are essentially 2 categories of people, which works for Ripperologists as well. Accumulators (who sometimes even buy multiple exemplaries of books, one for use and one for display, like The Grave Maurice) and people who want to “travel light“, like Scott Nelson. I tend to agree with the latter, but age and lifestyle probably play a part in this.
I think if one has a couple of the good “general“ books (Sugden and The ultimate, NOT A-Z until a corrected version comes out on paperback), plus a couple good books about a sole suspect (such as The lodger or Paley), then one needs books specifically about the sources and the police investigation (such as JTR Letters from Hell and Scotland Yard investigates), books specifically about the social history of Victorian London (such as something by Jack London, or Donald Thomas' The Victorian underworld, or even Paley, who does quite a decent job describing the social situation and quotes Jack London a lot). A book with photographic documentation, such as Philip Hutchinson's and Rob Clack's JTR's London then and now is also essential. Then come the books about the politics of the time, Fenianism, socialism, and anarchism, such as Butterworth and Fishman (although I've heard that both are a bit shallow in their discussion, concentrating too much on gossip stories). Plus there are the magazines (today in electronic form, while back issues in print can still be ordered for Ripper Notes and Ripperologist), which, precisely like someone said in another thread, discuss the latest research in a more specialized format. Thus, just the essential parts already add up to a significant, all rounded collection.
By the by, I don't think that the following “report“ belongs in this thread, but I just had my very first Ripperological dream last night! What does this make me, a “confirmed newbie“?
I dreamt that some Ripperologists (most of them British ones, with only one American present) were attending a conference in Whitechapel (just like we did a month ago), and we were on the street where Miller's Court used to be, and on the wall of the parking lot which stands there today there was a graffito featuring the images that some people insist on seeing "engraved" on Mary Kelly's bed. And Rumbelow (whom I've never met, but he looked like his picture posted on casebook, but with a very dark face and hair
) kept explaining how he scratched out the external part of the wall and the graffito inside appeared.Then the dream shifted, and you don't even want to know...
I think if one has a couple of the good “general“ books (Sugden and The ultimate, NOT A-Z until a corrected version comes out on paperback), plus a couple good books about a sole suspect (such as The lodger or Paley), then one needs books specifically about the sources and the police investigation (such as JTR Letters from Hell and Scotland Yard investigates), books specifically about the social history of Victorian London (such as something by Jack London, or Donald Thomas' The Victorian underworld, or even Paley, who does quite a decent job describing the social situation and quotes Jack London a lot). A book with photographic documentation, such as Philip Hutchinson's and Rob Clack's JTR's London then and now is also essential. Then come the books about the politics of the time, Fenianism, socialism, and anarchism, such as Butterworth and Fishman (although I've heard that both are a bit shallow in their discussion, concentrating too much on gossip stories). Plus there are the magazines (today in electronic form, while back issues in print can still be ordered for Ripper Notes and Ripperologist), which, precisely like someone said in another thread, discuss the latest research in a more specialized format. Thus, just the essential parts already add up to a significant, all rounded collection.
By the by, I don't think that the following “report“ belongs in this thread, but I just had my very first Ripperological dream last night! What does this make me, a “confirmed newbie“?
I dreamt that some Ripperologists (most of them British ones, with only one American present) were attending a conference in Whitechapel (just like we did a month ago), and we were on the street where Miller's Court used to be, and on the wall of the parking lot which stands there today there was a graffito featuring the images that some people insist on seeing "engraved" on Mary Kelly's bed. And Rumbelow (whom I've never met, but he looked like his picture posted on casebook, but with a very dark face and hair) kept explaining how he scratched out the external part of the wall and the graffito inside appeared.Then the dream shifted, and you don't even want to know...
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