Introduction

This study of the Jack the Ripper correspondence is a valuable addition to the volumes of extant published material on this fascinating series of unsolved crimes. While there is no shortage of books on this case, this new study will offer readers several novel and original contributions.

The theme of this book is simple. The most prevalent topics in the Ripper letters are quantified and documented through these criminal missives. It seems that the Ripper’s message was one of disrespect and contempt for the Establishment in Victorian England. The Ripper correspondence is replete with taunts and insults directed against British law enforcement and the monarchy. The Ripper rhetoric is the rhetoric of revolution.

Readers will be treated to the largest extant collection of Ripper letters. Each letter is included in the text, and analyzed in topical terms. This allows readers to see for themselves the recurrent themes, people and linguistic mannerisms of these unusual criminal documents.