|

A GRIM ALMANAC OF JACK THE RIPPER'S LONDON
by Neil R. Storey
Did you know?
- When the police seemed to make no progress in the hunt for Jack the Ripper it was
suggested some of the East End's best-trained boxers should be dressed in women's clothes
and walk the streets in an attempt to lure the killer into making an attack.
- At the time of the Ripper murders it was estimated that 80,000 prostitutes worked the
streets of London. Living conditions in tenement housing were atrocious: one sanitary
inspector reported finding a father, mother, three children and four pigs all inhabiting
a single filthy room.
- On 15 November 1852, as Dr Neill Cream dropped through the gallows rap at Newgate,
he declared "I'm Jack the..." - he wasn't
Have you ever wondered what the London that witnessed the Jack the Ripper murders was
really like? If you have, the enquire within. This almanac explores dreadful deeds, macabre deaths,
strange occurrences and grim tales from the darker side of the capital's past. Jostling for
position in this cornucopia of the criminal and the curious are diverese tales of baby farmers,
garotters, murderers, poisoners, pimps, rioters and rebels. Other tales tell of those who walked
the poverty-stricken streets of 'the abyss', trying to earn a few honest coppers by the most
unusual anmd desperate occupations, from tater man to tosher.
This colourful cast of characters is accompanied by accounts of prisons and punishments, as
well as a liberal smattering of funerals, executions, disasters and bizarre events. If it's horrible,
if it's ghastly, if it's strange, it's here - and if you have the stomach for it, then
read on....
Paperback (192 pages, card covers) - £14.99p
(please enquire for postage & packing rates to your location)
| |