Victor Stapleton book

[bladen7273.]

Hello,

There is a new book coming out in October by Victor Stapleton simply titled Jack the Ripper. Is anyone familiar with Victor Stapleton? I haven't heard anything about him, and was curious to know if his book will be any good.

[GUT]

I really don't know much about hm, but I do find it interesting that he devotes a chapter to "Copy Cats" it will be interesting, to say the least, which crimes he attributes to Jack and which he says are copies.

And boy he has studied it since 1988 so must have all the answers.

[bladen7273.]

I agree GUT. I'm curious as to the copy cat idea myself. Maybe he will have some fresh ideas!

You're right, since he has been studying it for that long he has to know all the answers!

[Victor Stapleton]

Jack the Ripper: The Murders, the Mystery, the Myth

Many thanks for the interest folks. The book's full title is 'JTR: The Murders, the Mystery, the Myth' and it is in the tradition of Robin Odell's 'Jack the Ripper in Fact and Fiction' -i.e. it explores the ways in which the JTR story has been retold through time as if it were a tale of Gothic fiction or melodrama (Jekyll and Hyde; Dracula; Picture of Dorian Gray etc). The earlier part of the book is also a whistle-stop tour of the facts, the suspects of the day and the suspects of today.

There seems to be other work of this kind going on at the moment: I see the British Library has just launched a new exhibition on the Gothic and they include the original 'Dear Boss' letter as a key exhibit. I shall definitely be going along to see that. There's also a new documentary about the Gothic tradition starting on UK's BBC4 tomorrow: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/lat.../gothic-season

Thanks again for the interest.
All best,
VS

[bladen7273.]

Hello, and welcome to the site.

I look forward to reading your book. I try to read most anything about the Ripper that I can get my hands on. How did you get involved with writing a book about this subject? There are so many books out today about Jack the Ripper, in your opinion what will make yours stand apart from the others?

Carl

[Victor Stapleton]

Many thanks Carl, the book's in a series called 'Dramatis Personae' which focuses on characters who blur the fact/fiction divide - like Sherlock Holmes, JTR, or going further back, Robin Hood or Dick Turpin. So that's the particular angle the book takes, along with a short overview of the key facts and state of the field to date.

Osprey publishing is based in Oxford where I've done some teaching on Gothic fiction and JTR over the years. There's a couple of books that have really inspired me in this approach - Christopher Frayling's 'Nightmare: the Birth of Horror' (1996) and Lucy Worsley's more recent 'A Very British Murder' (2013). Both much recommended.

Thanks again and hope all's well in Athens, GA - must be warmer this time of year than the UK I suspect!
All best,
VS

[bladen7273.]

Mr. Stapleton,

Thanks for responding. I am really looking forward to reading your book. I already have it pre-ordered and should be receiving it tomorrow.

Not that my opinion matters, but I will let you know what I think as soon as I read it.

I wish you the best of luck and success with your book.

Carl

By the way...the weather is absolutely beautiful here right now. It is between 70 and 80 degrees with a cool breeze.

[Victor Stapleton]

Many thanks Carl, your opinion very much matters so thanks for your thoughts and interest, much appreciated.

All good wishes,
VS