Jack the Ripper

Steering clear of wild conspiracy theories, this is the paperback edition of the book to which people turn for the facts behind one of the infamous and grisly episodes of the Victorian era.

When Jack the Ripper walked onto the streets of the East End he came to represent everything that was wrong with the area and with society as a whole. This book sets his murders in their historical context, examining in depth what East London was like in 1888, how it came to be that way, and how events led to this most infamous and grisly episode.

In 1888 the Whitechapel area of London was the scene of some of the most brutal murders ever recorded in history - and yet the case of Jack the Ripper remains unsolved. Steering clear of wild conspiracy theories, and spurious attempts to advance new theories about the identity of the culprit, Paul Begg instead provides the facts behind one of the most infamous and grisly episodes of the Victorian era.

 The book is a social history of Victorian East London as it is about the murders themselves. Begg argues that the case excited such interest precisely because of the notoriety of the East End at the time. Chronological coverage includes detailed accounts of the lives of each of the victims and an examination of the police investigation.