Ripper Fiction, yes or no?

[TomTomKent]

So...
As fascinating as I find the history of Jack the Ripper, and now and again I am pleasantly surprised by fiction about the case, some of those I have read (and by no means all) have left me with something of a bitter taste in my mouth.

Please don't misunderstand that: I love From Hell, and Anno Dracula, and there are few takes on the case I would recommend to a Sherlock Holmes fan who wants something other than the Canon to read...

But those that miss the mark end up feeling disrespectful, if that makes sense. Not through any intentional slander, or the likes, but because with any fiction inspired by history, you struggle to do justice to events and people, or it may end up feeling tawdry.

For full disclosure, some of you may remember I posted in the creative writing section ages ago, and my attempts at approaching the fringes of the subject (never intending my story to offer a solution to the case) was TERRIBLE.

More than once since, I have tried to write stories set within the Autumn of Terror and I have always found myself writing about fictional killers haunting the streets to avoid the risk of feeling as though I was going to trample over people who deserve better. I fully acknowledge that better writers than me (some of whom I believe have been, or are, users of this forum, because, really, who would write about something even remotely Ripperish without reading some of the threads here?) have been able to reach the balance I am for and miss, if anything highlighting areas of the case many people might not have considered before.

But all of this got me thinking, how many of the others with an interest lean to, or away from, the genre.

To clarify: I mean intentional works of fiction as art, not hoaxes, or those who make somewhat imaginative leaps in their theories.

[Pcdunn]

Hello, TomTom.

I like to read Ripper fiction. I've also co-written a couple of stories featuring the Ripper which were published in fanzines. One had Druitt as the culprit, the other went further afield and blamed Dr. Jekyll's monstrous friend, Mr. Hyde.

Here in the creative writing area of the forum, I've only posted some poetry.

I don't know about this trend for Ripper theorists to publish novels using their ideas. I'm aware of a couple, but haven't read them. Seems strange, somehow.

Have you read "1888, a Jack the Ripper novel" by C. Revelle-Smith? I have been told by several people it is an excellent work of fiction.

[TomTomKent]

[QUOTE=Pcdunn;434680]Hello, TomTom.

I like to read Ripper fiction. I've also co-written a couple of stories featuring the Ripper which were published in fanzines. One had Druitt as the culprit, the other went further afield and blamed Dr. Jekyll's monstrous friend, Mr. Hyde.

Here in the creative writing area of the forum, I've only posted some poetry.

I don't know about this trend for Ripper theorists to publish novels using their ideas. I'm aware of a couple, but haven't read them. Seems strange, somehow.

Have you read "1888, a Jack the Ripper novel" by C. Revelle-Smith? I have been told by several people it is an excellent work of fiction.[/QUOTE
I haven't read that one.
And of course, works of fiction need not be theorists with their theory, given how many stories I have read that were takes on the "royal Ripper" thing. I simply meant to differentiate between actual fiction, and the theories so thin that they are closer to fiction than history.

[j.r-ahde]

Hello TomTom!

Based on my experience, it's easier to make a fictional story around your theories, since probably no-one can make any water-proof presumptions.

And unless you are Patricia Cornwell, you emphasize it's fiction.

If you are interested about my fiction, they are on the creative writing and expression.

All the best
Jukka

[TomTomKent]

Hello TomTom!

Based on my experience, it's easier to make a fictional story around your theories, since probably no-one can make any water-proof presumptions.

And unless you are Patricia Cornwell, you emphasize it's fiction.

If you are interested about my fiction, they are on the creative writing and expression.

All the best
Jukka

Thanks. I do try and check out the creative writing section, because some time ago, people were very helpful to me there. Unfortunately little if anything I write at the moment can be -even tagently- justified as "Ripper Related".

[RockySullivan]

am I the only one who just hates reading fiction? I just cant read it it seems so fake and phony. and historical fiction is even worse

[Hercule Poirot]

am I the only one who just hates reading fiction? I just cant read it it seems so fake and phony. and historical fiction is even worse

It's funny to hear you say you can't read fiction but consider historical fiction being the worst kind.

Enjoying one of the many fiction genres is a matter of preferences. I personnaly love historical fiction and also enjoy very much books on quantum mechanics.

The problem I have with historical fiction is when it combines pure historic fiction with other sub-genres such as fantasy and science-fiction all bringing down to zero the plausibility factor.

When I wrote my novel, My Ripper Hunting Days, plausibility was my priority. The storyline had to be plausible. The characters I used who actually existed back then had to preserve what we knew of them and their part of the dialogs had to reflect their real personality. So you could easily figure out that the movie From Hell pissed me off particularly the interpretation by Johnny Depp of Abberline.

But otherwise, one must admit that fiction has a different purpose (entertainment) than non-fiction (acquiring knowledge) and doesn't have to claim its existence. It's part of life.
Cheers,
Hercule Poirot

[TomTomKent]

The problem I have with historical fiction is when it combines pure historic fiction with other sub-genres such as fantasy and science-fiction all bringing down to zero the plausibility factor.

I can see where you are coming from, and although I love the likes of Bernard Cornwell, I don't mind genre blending. I like to escape into books, and rather often the realities of history just do not lend themselves to the romantic notions people often have of "better" times. Adding a dash of science fiction or fantasy is a way to work around the grim and unpleasant realities of subjects that would otherwise make difficult reading.

However, as soon as you do that, history is diverting into fantasy. I find it less comfortable to have actual historical figures or events woven into a history-based fantasy. Either one or the other works brilliantly, but there are few examples of blending both that work too well (although, the exceptions are notable).

So you could easily figure out that the movie From Hell pissed me off particularly the interpretation by Johnny Depp of Abberline.

I much preferred Hugo Weaving's Abberline in the Wolfman movie myself. (I loved Michael Caine's character, but I'm not really sure he counts as an Abberline, and not just Harry Palmer in very deep cover?)