|
More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
|
Jack the Ripper
|
|
The popular name, coined in 1888, for the unknown murderer who in that year and the next cut the throats of seven women, all prostitutes, in the Whitechapel district of London. He mutilated most of them in a way which implied to the authorities that he had some specialist knowledge of human anatomy, and a series of taunting notes were sent to the police from someone claiming to be the murderer. The gruesome killings ended as suddenly as they had begun. Remaining unresolved, they have exercised a great fascination ever since; fingers have been pointed at numerous suspects (including even the queen's grandson, the duke of Clarence), but there is no conclusive evidence. A horror novel on the subject – The Lodger (1913) by Marie Belloc Lowndes – has been several times filmed.
|
|
|
|