Alias Jack The Ripper

Over a century ago, a depraved killer skillfully moved through the dark and filthy slums of London's East End. Despite the increasingly watchful eyes of investigators, the serial murderer--known as "Jack the Ripper" from a signature on a piece of correspondence that has been attributed to him--was never certainly identified. R. Michael Gordon provides a comprehensive look at the crimes and the case evidence, and then discusses the life of the man he believes was the actual killer, detailing the reasons why this person may have been driven to kill. Beginning with an overview of the terror created in the East End of 1888, the book describes the five major periods of the Ripper's deadly career: early life and schooling; a step-by-step view of the murders, including the Thames Torso Murders that authorities attempted to cover up; the Ripper's American connection; a return to London where his final victims were subjected to poison; and the capture and execution of the probable--but never proven--Ripper. To most people who worked closely on the Ripper and poisoning cases, justice was finally served.

Sex, mutilation and murder in Victorian England. The world's first serial killer covered by the mass media. In the fall of 1888 the most famous serial killer in history viciously attacked women, leaving crime scenes that forever haunted the minds of those who saw them and filled them with a single-minded resolve to apprehend the murderer. They never did. Although the murderer is known throughout the world as Jack the Ripper, the name he used on some of his taunting notes to the press and police tells far more psychologically about his demented personality: Saucy Jack. (Heavily researched, fact-based with some fictionalized sections).

You've never read a Ripper book like this. Christian was born in 1852. He carried out a sexual attack on a local girl and so fled to London to avoid being lynched. He and best friend Jimmy became trainee surgeons with a nefarious organization (The Firm). Both men fell in love with the same woman. Christian later illegally married her and further on became a whoremaster. In 1888, after he found out his "wife" had had a long sexual affair (and a child) with his best friend, his drug use and rage led him to release his wrath upon the prostitutes he formerly protected. Lauretta his "wife" kept a diary writing about him realizing she was married to Jack the Ripper. After he brutally murdered numerous women usually for a reason as it was not random, he realized there was one loose end: Jimmy's son. Thus, members of The Firm were hired to murder him secretly and dispose of the body. In 1913, the Ripper died after suffering via a STD. After his death, his family found a stash of money in his favourite armchair. His family lived on without him, and Lauretta (the hero) didn't pass over until 1934.

Hugely respected, extensively quoted and widely regarded as the 'bible' of Ripper studies, The Complete Jack the Ripper A to Z is the ultimate reference for anyone fascinated by the Jack the Ripper mystery. This new, rewritten, up-to-date edition includes sources and well over 100 photographs.The Complete jack the Ripper A-Z has an entry for almost every person involved in the case, from suspects and witnesses to policemen and journalists, plus the ordinary people who became caught up in the unfolding drama.Written by three of the world's leading authorities on the case, it takes a completely objective look at theories old and new, describes all the key Ripper books and gives potted biographies of many of the authors.Whether you are new to the mystery of Jack the Ripper or an experienced 'Ripperologist' The Complete Jack the Ripper A-Z will keep you turning the pages. Fascinating and entertaining reading in its own right, it is the essential reference to have beside you when you venture into the dark alleys of Victorian Whitechapel.

For the first time, the American murders of Jack the Ripper are revealed in the 1891 and 1892 crimes of Severin Klosowski (a.k.a. George Chapman, the Borough Poisoner), a prime suspect in the Ripper case. After his narrow escape from Scotland Yard, the killer would travel to the New York City area where four high-profile murders took place soon after his arrival. With Victorian era New York as his backdrop, Gordon recounts the gruesome scenes. He also details Klosowski's subsequent return to England where he would eventually be convicted and executed for another murder spree—with poison as his weapon of choice. Readers will learn about these unknown Ripper victims: Carrie Brown, an aging prostitute who was brutally slashed and mutilated; Hannah Robinson, a servant girl who was strangled to death; 73-year-old Elizabeth Senior, who struggled bravely against an intruder who stabbed her multiple times in her New Jersey home; and Herta Mary Anderson, a teenaged New Jersey hotel maid, found dead from a bullet wound and cut throat. How could the Ripper evade capture so easily? Why did the American connection remain hidden for so long?

Four American women dead at the hands of a prime suspect in the Jack the Ripper case. The most notorious serial murderer in the annals of British crime may have actually set foot on American soil during the late nineteenth century. In 1891 and 1892, four women were brutally mutilated and killed in New York and New Jersey. Because they were murdered in the same general area and time frame, the circumstances point to the possibility that the women were all victims of the same killer. Severin Klosowski (aka George Chapman, the Borough Poisoner), a prime suspect in the Ripper case, was living in the area at the time. With Victorian-era New York as his backdrop, author R. Michael Gordon recounts the gruesome scenes, focusing on the details that strongly suggest Chapman and the Ripper were one and the same.

Considered a primary suspect in the unsolved Jack the Ripper murders, Polish-born Severin Antoniovich Klosowski also gained considerable notoriety as "The Borough Poisoner of Southwark" in the late 1800s. Within a span of five years, Klosowski took on three women as his wives and lethally poisoned each with deadly doses of antimony. This study of Klosowski's murders of Mary Spink, Elizabeth "Bessie" Taylor and Maud Marsh includes extensive accounts of the individual crimes, the accompanying investigations and Klosowski's conviction and execution. The final chapter examines intense police and media speculation that Klosowski may also have been the unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper, citing period news articles and more recent developments in the notorious case. One appendix provides a detailed timeline of Klosowski's "poison period" from 1892 to 1903.

Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Katherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly--the five known victims of Jack the Ripper--are among the most written-about women in history. Hundreds of books on the Ripper murders describe their deaths in detail. Yet they themselves remain as mysterious as their murderer. This first ever study of the victims surveys the Ripper literature to reveal what is known about their lives, how society viewed them at the time of their deaths, and how attitudes and perceptions of them have (or have not) changed since the Victorian era.