Jack the Ripper and the East End

With an introduction by Peter Ackroyd, this is a fascinating portrait of the Victorian East End of London as the backdrop for Jack the Ripper.

In 1888, Whitechapel was in the heart of London’s inner East End, and was the most infamous place in Britain, widely perceived as an area of the blackest and deepest depravity. Its streets and alleys were seen as dark, dangerous places teeming with poverty and crime. In this highly readable study, David Spence uncovers the reality of East End life in his examination of topics such as slum housing, immigration and attitudes to women, poverty, violence and crime. He will also look at just how the Ripper’s brutal crimes were reported, and the police attempts to identify the murderer. A final section will demonstrate how Jack the Ripper has shaped our vision of London and influenced popular culture. The illustrations for the book will include rare and unpublished photographs, sections of the Booth Map of Poverty, detectives’ reports and original letters.

Jack the Ripper and the East End coincides with an exhibition organized by the Museum of London at their Museum in Docklands.

Contributors include:
Peter Ackroyd, author of London: The Biography and Thames: Sacred River; Clive Bloom, author of Violent London and Gothic Horror; John Marriott, editor of 6 collections on 19th century London; Anne Kershen, author of Huguenots, Jews and Bangladeshis in Spitalfields; Louise Jackson, author of books on children, women and the police in the 19th century; and Laura Vaughan, expert on poverty in Victorian London. The exhibition is curated by Alex Werner, who organised the London Bodies exhibition and the CD Journeys through Victorian London. Alex Werner is editing and collating the contributions.