The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion

At last, the true story of Jack the Ripper - a copiously illustrated and officially documented reconstruction of the infamous Whitechapel Murders. This singular encyclopedic work offers the ultimate in Ripper research. Solidly researched and profusely illustrated, collated from all the known official records and supplemented by contemporary press reports, it presents for the first time, in one volume, a prime-source reference book on the eleven shocking prostitute murders that took place in the East End of London between 1888 and 1891. While there is no doubt that the Whitechapel Murders, as they were classified by Scotland Yard, were committed by more than one person, no one knows how many of the killings can be attributed to a single culprit. More than one murderer wore the guise of Jack the Ripper, and certain identities of all to this day remain unknown. Divorcing the facts of the Ripper case from the myths that have proliferated in myriad books and film, this painstakingly compiled sourcebook offers a factual, documented narrative of the entire series of crimes, their forensic evidence, the official suspects and possible accomplices, police reports, and inquests. Any historian or crime fan researching the world's most notorious serial murders as well as general readers interested in the true facts of the case, will find this book as invaluable as it is affordable.

Attempting to demythologize a case that has intrigued and baffled historians and criminologists for more than a century, the editors have compiled an exhaustive compendium of primary and secondary source material pertaining to the infamous Whitechapel murders. Between 1888 and 1891, 11 prostitutes were brutally murdered in the East End of London, prompting Scotland Yard to undertake a grueling investigative inquiry. Now, for the first time, all of the available police files, press reports, witness statements, and court inquests related to each of these homicides are assembled in chronological order, providing a comprehensive overview of the crimes that were subsequently attributed to the legendary Jack the Ripper. Unlike most Ripper reconstructions, this straightforward, factual history is unclouded by often confusing and contradictory contemporary conclusions and interpretations. An invaluable resource for true crime buffs. Margaret Flanagan
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