The Diary Of Jack The Ripper - Shirley Harrison

Now I am intrigied by true life crime. I think it must come my ex profession in the forces. I like to read true life crime and try and understand why they did it or what makes them tick. I am not a Barbara Bradford Taylor or a Mills and Boon sort of person. I like criminiolgy more and although I will admit it, these are practically only one of a few books I will read. I do like autobiographies but I get a feel for a book and there are few books that make me want to read all night. I am useless at reading a book and I am an impatient sort of person as I normally read the back page before the ... more

This book should be classed under the genre of 'myths and legends' as it is not, so many ripperologists claim, in any way true. It is considered, among 'ripper' circles a modern, 20th century forgery. If it is a bit of horror you are after then this book might well feed that need, if it is history you want then you would do well to read many of the other books written by renowned Ripper writers. Please bear in mind there was never any person as 'Jack the Ripper' it was a name given, allegedly, in jest by, seemingly, a newspaper reporter. Murders happened in 1888 maybe by the hand of one person ... more

This book stands in the middle of two genres, true criminology and fascinating fiction. The answer to where it deserves to be placed revolves around one simple fact, the diary in question. The diary is said to be that of James Maybrick a Liverpool cotton merchant with London connections, and is a journal of his activities and gruesome murders in the East End that have become known as the Jack the Ripper case. The diary was in the possession of Mike Barrett having aquired it from a friend who died without revealing where it came from. Mike found himself a literary agent to try to verify the ... more