Top 5 Essential Ripper Books

[Lewis C]

Two that have to be among the top 5 essential Ripper books:

* The Bank Holiday Murders: The True Story of the First Whitechapel Murders

* Ripper Confidential: New Research on the Whitechapel Murders

(or so I've been told)

I'm sure many posters on this site have received complimentary copies. Except for me.

I can't even get a copy of Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard's Prime Suspect, which I haven't read and probably never will.

Have I missed anything of importance?

I paid for my copy of Ripper Confidential, but I got it for a discount. I think it's a good book. I would certainly accept a complimentary copy of The Bank Holiday Murders.

[Scott Nelson]

Very good. Books are meant to be passed on anyway, not kept.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Although I now understand why RD added fiction to his list, I would still struggle to narrow my list down to just 5 books. For someone new to the case I’d first recommend a good overview of the case and like most I’d go for Sugden. Then I’d add the Sourcebook by Evans and Skinner as it gives to pretty much all the documentary evidence that you need (especially the kindle version if you’re discussing the case on here) Then after that it’s difficult…many excellent books but so much crap. So for a newbie I’d possibly add Morley’s suspect book. Then would I dip into ‘suspect’ books or add another overview like Begg’s Definitive Facts? Or Robin O’Dell’s Ripperology ( I just looked at the reviews on Amazon and it was sad to see one by Cogidubnus…Dave posted on here and sadly died fairly recently) Or Begg and Bennett’s CSI Whitechapel as it’s great visually as well as a good read.

In terms of suspect books i’d add Rob House's book on Kosminski. Bill Beadle’s book on Bury, Helen Wojtczak’s book on Chapman ) and of course, because of my own interest, books on Druitt…Farson, Cullen, Anderson, Howells & Skinner and Hainsworth etc)

As far as fiction goes, and because I’m a Holmes fan, I could add a few Holmes vs the Ripper pastiches like Dust And Shadows.

As a wild card I’d add Steven Knight’s Final Solution just because it’s so enjoyable to read and the fact that it’s the book that I wish was true.

[The Rookie Detective]

Although I now understand why RD added fiction to his list, I would still struggle to narrow my list down to just 5 books. For someone new to the case I’d first recommend a good overview of the case and like most I’d go for Sugden. Then I’d add the Sourcebook by Evans and Skinner as it gives to pretty much all the documentary evidence that you need (especially the kindle version if you’re discussing the case on here) Then after that it’s difficult…many excellent books but so much crap. So for a newbie I’d possibly add Morley’s suspect book. Then would I dip into ‘suspect’ books or add another overview like Begg’s Definitive Facts? Or Robin O’Dell’s Ripperology ( I just looked at the reviews on Amazon and it was sad to see one by Cogidubnus…Dave posted on here and sadly died fairly recently) Or Begg and Bennett’s CSI Whitechapel as it’s great visually as well as a good read.

In terms of suspect books i’d add Rob House's book on Kosminski. Bill Beadle’s book on Bury, Helen Wojtczak’s book on Chapman ) and of course, because of my own interest, books on Druitt…Farson, Cullen, Anderson, Howells & Skinner and Hainsworth etc)

As far as fiction goes, and because I’m a Holmes fan, I could add a few Holmes vs the Ripper pastiches like Dust And Shadows.

As a wild card I’d add Steven Knight’s Final Solution just because it’s so enjoyable to read and the fact that it’s the book that I wish was true.

Herlock, thank you so much.

Your post is precisely the kind of feedback that I was looking to obtain from starting this thread.

Theres been some great posts already, but hats off to you for taking it a step forward and advancing the idea of the thread, and for your excellent explanation behind your choices.


An individual just starting out on this particular journey could in theory read your post and have an excellent idea of where to start, and that's exactly what I was trying to achieve with this thread.

Many thanks to you

RD