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In Ripper Notes #26 (2006) I had an article published called "In Hours of Red Desire: John Barlas and the Scottish Lunatic suspect", which revealed for the first time that an unnamed Ripper suspect described by the New York Times on October 24, 1897 was in fact the socialist/anarchist poet John Barlas. I provided a brief account of Barlas's life and writings, and speculated on the likelihood/unlikelihood of Barlas being the Ripper. (The case was very slim. See also the entry on Barlas in the Complete Jack the Ripper A to Z (2010).)
A full-length critical biography of Barlas by Philip Cohen is now reported as due for publication by Rivendale Press on October 1, 2012. Details of the biography can be found here:
I sent the author all my documents on Barlas, and I know he received a copy of the Ripper Notes article as well. From the description of the forthcoming biography it appears that the Ripper association has been dismissed, which is fair enough.
Unfortunately, the Casebook thread on Barlas - which contained a lot of good material from Chris Scott and Stephen Halliwell, as well as photos of Barlas's residences at Engelfield Green in Surrey and Belsize Crescent in London - was lost following a major server crash in 2007.
The book is quite expensive at £40.00 but I will obtain a copy and possibly review it for one of the Ripper publications so that casebook completists can judge if the Ripper association is strong enough to warrant their own purchase.
David A. Green
A full-length critical biography of Barlas by Philip Cohen is now reported as due for publication by Rivendale Press on October 1, 2012. Details of the biography can be found here:
I sent the author all my documents on Barlas, and I know he received a copy of the Ripper Notes article as well. From the description of the forthcoming biography it appears that the Ripper association has been dismissed, which is fair enough.
Unfortunately, the Casebook thread on Barlas - which contained a lot of good material from Chris Scott and Stephen Halliwell, as well as photos of Barlas's residences at Engelfield Green in Surrey and Belsize Crescent in London - was lost following a major server crash in 2007.
The book is quite expensive at £40.00 but I will obtain a copy and possibly review it for one of the Ripper publications so that casebook completists can judge if the Ripper association is strong enough to warrant their own purchase.
David A. Green
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