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A review of the recently published book.
Jack the Ripper, The Definitive Casebook by Richard Whittington-Egan 349 pp, Hardback.
Amberley Publishing, The Hill, Stroud, Gloucestershire.
Richard Whittington-Egan is without doubt one of the major authors on the subject of Jack the Ripper, The Whitechapel Murders and the mysteries surrounding those unsolved murders of the East End of London, 1888. His first book on the subject, "A Casebook on Jack the Ripper" was published as far back as 1975. Those with a long memory will recall this volume as distinctly different to all previous volumes published up until that point. That particular volume is now extremely hard to come by and sold in limited quantities, calling for high prices on the open market of used books.
This new volume, timed nicely for the 125th anniversary of the Whitechapel murders is a massive volume of facts, overviews and theories. It looks at the game of "Hunt the Ripper" from almost every angle and perspective, throughout the years gone by, and discusses the majority of important books on the subject and in some cases the authors themselves.
In putting this volume together, it cannot have been at all easy to remain a dispassionate "middle-man", yet have the honesty to be critical where it was seen as needed. Whittington-Egan achieves this feat almost flawlessy, with a prose written in typically flowing, almost a romantically baroque manner. It becomes an easy read, which, when given the complex subject matter, is no mean task in itself.
His surmising of the various "suspects", both new and old, is very thorough. There are some he affords little time towards, and there are some he really does "go to town" on. An example of the latter is the debacle (which is what it has by now realistically become) surrounding James Maybrick and the infamous "Diary". Whittington-Egan elegantly shows us the step by step breakdown of the whole saga. Of course, had he been concentrating fully on this one part of the subject, I am sure he could easily have put together an entire book. Thankfully, and quite remarkably, he manages to leave us with a clear idea of the Diary presentation, almost from start to finish.
His respect for all authors, an impression generously afforded us in saying that "any book does not write itself" shows the genuine understanding of authorship of any given book...the time taken to actually put a book together, the research accumulated and the checking and re-checking of the thousands of facts...are all appreciated, whether the book is an excellent one or one of poorer quality, in Whittington-Egan's opinion. This shows the value of the understanding of authorship.
Having said that, Whittington-Egan does not spare blushes. He starts with himself, in the acknowledgements section at the start of his book, by saying that he will willingly take the credit for any mistakes in the book, even though the most obvious mistakes had been corrected with help from others.
He realises that Humanum errare est- 'tis human to err, and he repeats this later in the book in reference to other authors. However, in paying respect to fellow authors from the past, he does show us some of the weaknesses of their theories from times gone by. He even tells us, Exempli gratia, of the reknowned Donald Rumbelow book, The Complete Jack the Ripper (1975), that Rumbelow "imports a 'legend' of his own- 'Jack the Ripper's knife' ". There are many examples, some positive and some negative throughout the book and it may seem slighly unfair to pick out one or two, here and there. Such can be the nature of a review, however.
There are those who would willingly debate some of the author's views, myself included on some points. However, this is not the place to debate whether Whittington-Egan's summary of all Ripper-related books and their theories within are spot-on or not. It is the place to show in some sort of manner, the worthiness of this book as regards the subject written about and the quality of the prose within.
There are mistakes, some date errors, a name spelling mistake here and there for example, but in the overall picture of things presented, Humanum errare est indeed, and it would be churlish to individually point them out.
I was particularly impressed with Whittington-Egan's "treatment", if that be the correct word, of the late Melvin Harris, who challenged many things in "Ripper-World" and often recieved much critique for his efforts. Here, Harris is treated with great respect, which I found both honourable and refreshing. I also noted, quite the same honesty in his views upon a friend of many years, Colin Wilson, who has changed his idea of whom "Jack" was more times than most change their bank account number. Refreshingly honest and the merest hint of a dry sense of humour emerges upon reflection on the inner eye.
The crowning moment in this book for me, was his tribute to Stephen Knight, in the
"Appendix A. Stephen Knight: A Memorial" ...
Having taken the time to explain Knight's further exploits in the publishing world and even the material world after his book on the Ripper (Jack the Ripper. The Final Solution), he shows the ultimate answer to all the unending in-fighting, name-calling and at times, personal hatred that can arise within the field from time to time. Of Knight, who died in 1985, He writes..
"Perhaps now he has the answer to the big question. Whatever, let us remember him with charity. He was human. He erred. He was mortal. Spare him that small slice of immortality which is the warmth of one's fellows' rememberance."
A lesson for us all I believe. A lesson in refusing to join the bandwagon using modern day Ad hominem.
Thank you Mr. Whittington-Egan. Your book should rightly be regarded as highly important and beneficial to newcomers and old-timers alike. Some will find snippets refreshingly honest. Some may question the weight of your judgements, as is their individual right. None, however, should regard this book as anything but a "must" to own, to read, re-read and peruse over, again and again. In short- a Magnum opus.
To not spend £25 or so on this book would indeed be a crime..buy it..read it and enjoy it.
Phil Carter, November 4th, 2013.
Jack the Ripper, The Definitive Casebook by Richard Whittington-Egan 349 pp, Hardback.
Amberley Publishing, The Hill, Stroud, Gloucestershire.
Richard Whittington-Egan is without doubt one of the major authors on the subject of Jack the Ripper, The Whitechapel Murders and the mysteries surrounding those unsolved murders of the East End of London, 1888. His first book on the subject, "A Casebook on Jack the Ripper" was published as far back as 1975. Those with a long memory will recall this volume as distinctly different to all previous volumes published up until that point. That particular volume is now extremely hard to come by and sold in limited quantities, calling for high prices on the open market of used books.
This new volume, timed nicely for the 125th anniversary of the Whitechapel murders is a massive volume of facts, overviews and theories. It looks at the game of "Hunt the Ripper" from almost every angle and perspective, throughout the years gone by, and discusses the majority of important books on the subject and in some cases the authors themselves.
In putting this volume together, it cannot have been at all easy to remain a dispassionate "middle-man", yet have the honesty to be critical where it was seen as needed. Whittington-Egan achieves this feat almost flawlessy, with a prose written in typically flowing, almost a romantically baroque manner. It becomes an easy read, which, when given the complex subject matter, is no mean task in itself.
His surmising of the various "suspects", both new and old, is very thorough. There are some he affords little time towards, and there are some he really does "go to town" on. An example of the latter is the debacle (which is what it has by now realistically become) surrounding James Maybrick and the infamous "Diary". Whittington-Egan elegantly shows us the step by step breakdown of the whole saga. Of course, had he been concentrating fully on this one part of the subject, I am sure he could easily have put together an entire book. Thankfully, and quite remarkably, he manages to leave us with a clear idea of the Diary presentation, almost from start to finish.
His respect for all authors, an impression generously afforded us in saying that "any book does not write itself" shows the genuine understanding of authorship of any given book...the time taken to actually put a book together, the research accumulated and the checking and re-checking of the thousands of facts...are all appreciated, whether the book is an excellent one or one of poorer quality, in Whittington-Egan's opinion. This shows the value of the understanding of authorship.
Having said that, Whittington-Egan does not spare blushes. He starts with himself, in the acknowledgements section at the start of his book, by saying that he will willingly take the credit for any mistakes in the book, even though the most obvious mistakes had been corrected with help from others.
He realises that Humanum errare est- 'tis human to err, and he repeats this later in the book in reference to other authors. However, in paying respect to fellow authors from the past, he does show us some of the weaknesses of their theories from times gone by. He even tells us, Exempli gratia, of the reknowned Donald Rumbelow book, The Complete Jack the Ripper (1975), that Rumbelow "imports a 'legend' of his own- 'Jack the Ripper's knife' ". There are many examples, some positive and some negative throughout the book and it may seem slighly unfair to pick out one or two, here and there. Such can be the nature of a review, however.
There are those who would willingly debate some of the author's views, myself included on some points. However, this is not the place to debate whether Whittington-Egan's summary of all Ripper-related books and their theories within are spot-on or not. It is the place to show in some sort of manner, the worthiness of this book as regards the subject written about and the quality of the prose within.
There are mistakes, some date errors, a name spelling mistake here and there for example, but in the overall picture of things presented, Humanum errare est indeed, and it would be churlish to individually point them out.
I was particularly impressed with Whittington-Egan's "treatment", if that be the correct word, of the late Melvin Harris, who challenged many things in "Ripper-World" and often recieved much critique for his efforts. Here, Harris is treated with great respect, which I found both honourable and refreshing. I also noted, quite the same honesty in his views upon a friend of many years, Colin Wilson, who has changed his idea of whom "Jack" was more times than most change their bank account number. Refreshingly honest and the merest hint of a dry sense of humour emerges upon reflection on the inner eye.
The crowning moment in this book for me, was his tribute to Stephen Knight, in the
"Appendix A. Stephen Knight: A Memorial" ...
Having taken the time to explain Knight's further exploits in the publishing world and even the material world after his book on the Ripper (Jack the Ripper. The Final Solution), he shows the ultimate answer to all the unending in-fighting, name-calling and at times, personal hatred that can arise within the field from time to time. Of Knight, who died in 1985, He writes..
"Perhaps now he has the answer to the big question. Whatever, let us remember him with charity. He was human. He erred. He was mortal. Spare him that small slice of immortality which is the warmth of one's fellows' rememberance."
A lesson for us all I believe. A lesson in refusing to join the bandwagon using modern day Ad hominem.
Thank you Mr. Whittington-Egan. Your book should rightly be regarded as highly important and beneficial to newcomers and old-timers alike. Some will find snippets refreshingly honest. Some may question the weight of your judgements, as is their individual right. None, however, should regard this book as anything but a "must" to own, to read, re-read and peruse over, again and again. In short- a Magnum opus.
To not spend £25 or so on this book would indeed be a crime..buy it..read it and enjoy it.
Phil Carter, November 4th, 2013.
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