Leonard Matters: The Mystery Of Jack The Ripper First Edition, Third Impression
Merchant: Oxfam
Merchant's Category: Media> Books
"In 1926, Leonard Matters proposed in a magazine article that the notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper was an eminent doctor, whose son had died from syphilis caught from a prostitute. According to Matters, the doctor, given the pseudonym "Dr Stanley", committed the murders in revenge and then fled to Argentina. Matters claimed he had discovered an account of Stanley's deathbed confession in a South American newspaper. He expanded his ideas into a book, The Mystery of Jack the Ripper, in 1929. The book was marketed as a serious study, but it contains obvious factual errors and the documents it supposedly uses as references have never been found. . .The Mystery of Jack the Ripper was the first full-length book on the Ripper, and it inspired further fictional works such as the theatre play Murder Most Foul and the film Jack the Ripper" (adapted from Wikipedia article). "Matters provides a good overview of the murders as well as the social and political issues involved. However, some of the detail is at odds with later seemingly better-researched texts. Although other books may provide a more comprehensive analysis of the facts for the ripper obsessional, this one allows a coherent birds-eye understanding of the chronology and interrelations of events. The second part of the book is entitled "Theory" and allows Matters to embark on wilder paths of speculation. He covers some of the contemporary theories of the police, however also indulges himself his own theory of "The Satanic Dr Stanley", at which point his writing style changes dramatically, from historian to that of crime novelist" (from a review on amazon). This item is the extremely scarce first edition (third impression). It is referenced in most of the articles and essays about Jack the Ripper. Only fair condition. All photograph plates and text-block in good condition - no highlighting or other notes, or any foxing - but cover has numerous small stains (especially back cover, see image 2) and top 2 inches of the spine cloth is becoming detached; this could be repaired with the appropriate glue. Hence a relatively low price for this rare volume.
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