JACK THE RIPPER An Encyclopaedia

Softcover. The gruesome, unsolved murders by the first media-sensationalised serial killer, Jack the Ripper, continue to fascinate us after more than a hundred years. However, from the beginning the truth has been obscured by a fog of half-truths and misinterpretations. The author clears up half a century of misinformation and myth, by using a critical case review of the kind that is now used to scrutinise unsolved crimes. He re-checks, re-examines and re-evaluates the facts, conjectures, newspaper accounts, eyewitness reports and official pronouncements. The book includes : descriptions of the locations where the bodies were found. Detailed histories of the victims. Profiles of key police officials and examinations of police procedures, investigations, blunders and errors. Details of prevailing myths about the case. A meticulous evaluation of all the chief suspects. Comprehensive analysis of the existing literature. Discussions of written communications ostensibly sent by the Ripper. A closely reasoned and well-supported argument identifying the most likely suspect. Includes : Maps, Illustrations, a Chronology, an Introduction, a Bibliography and an Index complete this comprehensive reference to a notorious chapter in British criminal history. 304pp. 8vo. softcover. Vg+ with no creasing to covers.