JACK THE RIPPER Scotland Yard Investigates

Hardback. SIGNED. 'In 1888 the dreaded figure of Jack the Ripper stalked London's East End murdering prostitutes. His crimes set in motion a huge police operation and have held a dark fascination over the public's imagination for over a century, yet his identity has never been proved. Now for the first time, two leading Ripper experts have joined forces to treat the case like a police investigation. Drawing on their unparalleled knowledge of the Jack the Ripper murders and their professional experience as police officers, they uncover clues that have remained undetected for over 100 years. The 'canonical' five Ripper victims are Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Kelly. Yet Scotland Yard's 'Whitechapel Murders' files include another six suspected victims. Drawing the reader into the world of police investigation in Victorian London, the authors reveal the conflict between the City and the Metropolitan forces and the ridicule heaped on the police by the press. Investigating each murder, they conclude that only four of the eleven victims were actually killed by the Ripper. Perhaps most tellingly, they question the motives behind the destruction of evidence - particularly the message 'The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing', which was chalked on the wall near one murder site and rubbed out on the order of the Chief Comissioner - and ask whether the enigmatic Dr Robert Anderson, officer in charge of the investigation, knew the Ripper's true identity.' A book which strips away much of the nonsense that has accumulated since 1888 and reopens files on a case that will perhaps never be fully solved but will always fascinate. Illus., Appendices, Notes, Bibliog. and Index. 304pp. 4to. h/back. Vg+ in Vg+ dw. With tipped-in labels SIGNED BY THE AUTHORS. A heavy book which will require additional postage, particularly if shipped overseas.