The Complete Jack the Ripper

By: Donald Rumbelow

Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart

Fully updated and revised, Donald Rumbelow's classic work is the ultimate examination of the facts, theories, fictions, and fascinations surrounding the greatest whodunit in history.

Laying out all the evidence in the most comprehensive summary ever written about the Ripper, this book, by a London police officer and crime authority, has subjected every theory - including those that have emerged in recent years-to the same deep scrutiny.

The author also examines the mythology surrounding the case and provides some fascinating insights into the portrayal of the Ripper on stage and screen and on the printed page. More seriously, he also examines the horrifying parallel crimes of the Düsseldorf Ripper and the Yorkshire Ripper in an attempt to throw further light on the atrocities of Victorian London.

©2013 Donald Rumbelow (P)2018 Tantor

great job!

all around perfect audiobook. it kept my attention and I loved the narration! i just loved it

fantastic story

I found this book quite. interesting. I would recommend it. a great read all around.

Some interesting things I’ve not read/heard before

Author has a wealth of knowledge…maybe too much! If you get can past the chapter he spends the entire chapter explaining each and every profession in White Chapel at the time broken down into hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly (something that other authors manage to express simply by saying “it was a poor area) it is intriguing.

Better than expected

Certainly offered some theories that were new to me and seemed very thoroughly researched. Didn’t find it dry at all, which says something about the quality of author’s storytelling and the excellent narration.

A Bit Difficult to Follow

I think this one is probably better read than listened to. It’s a bit difficult to follow in audio format. At times it’s hard to distinguish between the author’s voice and that of someone being quoted, a contemporary account, etc. I would imagine quoted passages are probably indented or italicized in the text, but that doesn’t come across in the audio. Maybe it’s just a shortcoming of the medium. For me, it makes for a confusing listen at times.

In terms of the content, everything that’s directly related to the murders is interesting and well done. I had less interest in the detailed backgrounds of certain suspects, especially suspects that seem unlikely or even outrageous. There are also sections dedicated to similar murders, like the “(insert city here) Ripper.” I had little or no interest in these sections. Also, the conclusion is quite brief.

Overall, if you’re interested in this subject, there is something for you here. Parts of it are certainly worth a listen/read. But if you aren’t interested it similar but unrelated cases, there’s quite a bit to skip as well.

Exhaustive

An absolutely masterful handling of the facts and myths surrounding Jack the Ripper. However, Rumbelow wanders off the path at the end covering other “ripper” type slayings which have nothing todo with “Jack”.

There is no comparison between Rumbelow and every other Ripper historian.

a classic for Ripperologists

I was 11 when I first read this in 1979. the only thing missing is the newest information about Charles Cross aka Lechmere being a very probable suspect.

catch the facts if you can

Overall I enjoyed this book and I think my issues with it might have been less noticeable if I had read it instead of listening to an audiobook.
My biggest complaint is that there isn't a section of the book that clearly lays out all the evidence complied about Jack at the time if the murders. There is a very detailed account about the difficulties of the case due to conditions and turmoil in the police department and very detailed information about the women's bodies. All other relevant evidence is presented as needed while talking about possible suspects. I found this made some of the conclusions hard to follow specifically as an audiobook because it's hard to know when the author is giving you a factual account of something or quoting some one else's lengthy account. It makes it difficult to follow overall because you don't have evidence to draw your own conclusions amd make judgements on how you feel about a theory being presented. The result is that you have to believe all the theories are wrong because the author says so and you don't have enough information to make your own theory. This also sort of leaves you with the feeling that the author believes you are more than casually aware of the ripper murders before ever picking up the book.
My other issue is the book leaves you with the feeling that there was no point to the book. I picked this one to read specifically because the author doesn't try to solve the murders and instead presents all relevant information. However as I already said he never really coherently gives you all the evidence and instead seems to just be trying to say everyone is wrong. That coupled with the fact that the last section of the book talks about murders that were similar to the ripper case without ever making an argument for how that enlightens us at all leaves you with a since that there was no real coherence to the book.

All Things Jack the Ripper Discussed

Rumbelow takes a careful look at all suspects that have been identified as the Jack the Ripper perpetrators. My favorite part was when he called out an arrogant American author who claimed to definitely found the identity of Ripper. He also delves into other crimes throughout history and geographical places with similar crimes as the Ripper’s.

Full Complete

greatly narrated,very strongly explored and close to all murders.Highly recommended if you want to decide on your own WHO Jack the ripper was.