Looking into the Ripper trade

Jack the Ripper by Terry Lynch (Wordsworth Editions, 2008) is probably now one of the older books, being surpassed by many others that were subsequently written up till day, on the diabolical murderer who not only killed but mutilated the bodies which he butchered and literally dissected with his sharp knife.

Lynch provides an extensive documentation of the at least five murders that were carried out between August and November 1888 and which were allegedly made by Jack the Ripper in the Whitechapel area of the East End of London.

The book is divided into three parts, dealing with the actually murders, the suspects and the extensive investigations, carried out by the police. The whole book provides a horrendous overview of the murders while at the same time giving a factual account of those gloomy days using as much evidence as possible not only from police reports, books that were written on the subject and accounts and interviews published in newspapers at the time; It is suggested as portrayed by Lynch, newspapers played a great part in whipping a “Ripper fever” as a means to sell their newspapers states that it was them who coined the term for the bloody murderer.

The author dwells extensively on the murder of each victim and how they were carried out, mostly in the night and the early hours of the morning and the women were hacked and mutilated with their different parts of their bodies ripped apart, starting from their necks, back, abdomen and sexual organs. We get a graphic take, without intending it, of how the Ripper on different victims carved out their breast, kidneys, spleen and other horrendous acts.

These descriptions are made through police and doctor’s records that provided extensive descriptions of how the murders were carried out and the views that were made regarding the actual acts and beliefs that how the “knife” was used to mutilate the victims, a heinous practice if there ever was one. In this respect, there was a lot of “going-back-and-forth” on the murders made by the author, no doubt to establish a pattern and action by the authorities, no doubt to try and catch the murderer who was never caught to the dismay of the public and the police and led to accusations of inefficiency on the part of the latter.

The book paints a comprehensive picture of Whitechapel in the 1880s, its social mix and fluidity characterized by the growth of a Jewish community and immigrants from Poland and Russia. Different members of all these communities thus took their fair share of suspicion when the murders were being committed. A pictorial mix of the housing, streets, alleyways and the many pubs were all given a reflection to show a “vibrant” society, which would serve well for social historians examining that part of the city. Ripper went after prostitutes, the author suggests and relaying on records, there were 1200 of them in the Whitechapel area mostly living in doss houses.

Lynch provides a well-rounded picture of “whodunit” throughout the text. Many people were under suspicion with the suggestion there was a royal connection. At one point it was also suggested the killer was a homosexual, and there was a Russian connection with the secret police of the czar hell bent in meddling in the affairs of British politics. In the end, the author talks about three possible individuals that could be behind the murders. But when fathoming the thorough text, readers may subconsciously reach the conclusion the killer had an extensive knowledge of the human anatomy because of the way the murders were carried out, for although they were “bloody”, the desecration were expertly made. It may thus be worthwhile for Lynch to pursue further her “doctors under suspicion” section and develop it further.