Books By Mrtin Howells, Keith Skinner and Shirley Harrison

[Farex]

Gday fellow members,

I am new to the study of Ripperology and am seeking opinions on the following books that i have purchased.

The Diary of Jack the Ripper
Narrative by Shirley Harrison
Pub Smith Gryphon Publishers

The Ripper Legacy
The Life and Death of Jack the ripper
By Martin Howells and Keith Skinner

I am sure most of you might know of these authors and i have seen Martin and Keith's name quite a bit however as a beginner i am interested if this a good start and other peoples opinons on these two books.

Look forward to hearing from you all

Farex

[Chris]

I wouldn't recommend either for the general reader.

People who are particularly interested in the Maybrick Diary (to whom I would say, "Don't do it!") will want to read Harrison, and people who are particularly interested in Druitt will want to read Howells and Skinner, but for others there are a number of books that give a much better treatment of the case as a whole.

[Magpie]

Legacy is one of the best books about the Druitt theory. It strikes a good balance between being well support and readable.

Harrison's book is about the Maybrick diary. It's a great read. Entire Diaryworld at your own peril.

[Farex]

"interesting" lol

I have just finished reading "The Diary" and agree that you certainly could walk away feeling that you have a very convincing arguement that Maybrick was the killer.
However i found some interesting points that i found didnt match myself and i being a person who wants to find out everything i can about each suspect i choose not to make my own conclusion just yet.

upon researching my points i discovered the truth about this "Diary". i shall not devulge this here as i dont want to ruin it for others. As for those who have come across this book and know what i am talking about in regards to the truth of this Diary can imagine how silly one can feel afterwards lol.

I do agree that it is a very good read, thoroughly entertaining.

Farex

Chris = thankyou for your reply and i certainly agree with you that for the seriously in mind "Don't Do it"

Magpie = i am about to start reading the Legacy and thankyou for your opinion and look forward to it.

also i have also managed to purchase the "Jack the Ripper The Final Solution" By Stephen Knight.
i have noticed that this comes recommended by Case book and am looking forward to reading this

[Bailey]

Hey Farex, and welcome.

All three of books you mention are good reads, and all have some merit (the books if not the theories, tho many would argue Cornwell's has none. I think her argument is extremely weak, but the book is quite readable and she paints a vivid picture of the time), however I suspect most would agree that before delving too deeply into suspects you would do well to read one or two good overview books so you get the relevant facts from an unbiased angle first.

Personally I'd recommend Sugden's Complete History, Rumbelow's Complete JTR (get the newest edition from a couple of years ago to be up to date) or Begg's The Facts, which I'm halfway through for the first time and finding extremely readable and which I believe more than any other I've read is doing a great job of putting everything in a comprehensive, chronological, almost narrative format, with a ridiculous amount of detail, making it my first pick. It's also extremely well referenced - a huge chunk at the back of the book cites all the information sources if you ever want to check back and find out where a bit of info comes from. Other books do this too, but this one is extremely detailed.

While everyone has favourites, and a few dislike one or other, I think most here would agree that one of the above would be your best next step.

An important thing to remember, especially with Legacy and Final Solution, is that a great deal has been learned in recent times, and those books are looooong out of date. Don't let them stick old and incorrect information in your brain! Remember also that Knight's case, while dramatically exciting, is almost universally dismissed and considered thoroughly disproven, based on errors and some say outright lies.

I'd also recommend getting a good Encyclopedia-type volume to have handy for reference so if you come across a fact you want to check or a reference you don't recognise you can look them up. The A-Z by Fido, Begg and Skinner is very good but it's been a while between editions (a new one is in publishing limbo right now) or Eddleston's JTR: An Encyclopedia is well respected.

And you may wish to talk to your bank about an overdraft, credit card limit increase, or even a small personal loan... There are a lot of books out there and this hobby can get costly.

Cheers!
Bailey