1888 London Murders in the Year of the Ripper [Paperback]

This book gives a fascinating account of London in 1888: a time of depression, strikes and protests and panic over a series of murders by Jack the Ripper. The author looks at a number of other murders, and cases of manslaughter, that happened during that year; revealing a portrait of London that is very different, and yet very similar, to our own time. We too have a time of economic depression, a Queen who has just celebrated a Jubilee, a government led by an Old Etonian Conservative, gangs and knife crime. In many ways, 1888 mirrors our present age in a distorted image, although there are also interesting, and important, differences. In London today, you are more likely to be a victim of murder if you are male. In 1888, women made up a greater percentage of victims, and children were also, tragically, often killed - especially as babies.

The author gives a wonderfully vivid account of those times, presenting cases of murder which range from those which caused media outrage, to those which aroused little interest at the time. He recounts the stories of drunken brawls which led to murder, omnibus accidents which resulted in charges of manslaughter, domestic violence, the murders of prostitutes (including those attributed to the Ripper) and many other cases. There is also a lot of detailed information about how the city was policed (including the discovery of the torso of a woman hidden in the foundations of the building which was to become New Scotland Yard). Links between then and today are always with us. Whitechapel, still a cosmopolitan area, was under attack from complaints of immigrants driving down wages and taking jobs, with intolerance and racism rearing its ugly head. Sadly, knife crime and gangs are not a new problem either and in 1888 the Gazette proclaimed, "a generation is growing up around us which has never been disciplined, either at home or at school." Not much new from the newspapers either then, with the media still attempting to rouse moral frenzy and panic around news stories. It is also shocking to read how many deaths were caused by firearms before proper restrictions were placed on them in 1920.

Overall, this is a really exciting and evocative read. It follows crimes to their conclusion, discussing court cases and how many murders remained unsolved. Poverty and drink, plus the fear of ruin, lay at the core of many of the most tragic murders and often the courts took a more lenient and compassionate view of crimes which were caused by total despair. If you are interested in historical true crime, or Victorian London, I am sure you will find this book an excellent read. The Appendix has many statistics about murder and manslaughter cases in London in the 1880's and, lastly, I read the kindle version of this book and the illustrations were included at the end.

The year 1888 is most notably known as the year Jack the Ripper created terror in the streets of Whitechapel, murdering five, possibly six prostitutes and escaping from justice, the mystery of his identity lingering on through the years. But, as Stubley quite rightly points out, Jack's were not the only murders in London that year, and perhaps it is these others, lost to history, that are far more indicative of a particular time and place that the more celebrated ones of Jack the Ripper.

Stubley takes a relatively thematic approach, looking at the different kinds of murders and manslaughters committed in 1888 - vehicular accidents, street fights, illegal abortions, insanity pleas, husbands murdering wives, parents killing children, teenage gangs. With this approach he looks at the context surrounding the crimes, and it is telling just how often poverty and alcoholism play a major part.

What I found interesting is just how few of these cases resulted in the death penalty. The stereotypical view of Victorian justice was that it was harsh and extreme, the hangman's noose the inevitable end - but the majority of the cases involved pleas for mercy and only one ended up making the final drop.

The horrific crimes of Jack the Ripper tend to dominate London in the year 1888 but there were other murders and this book sets out to give us more information about these other cases. I found it interesting reading as it brings all those almost forgotten cases to life. What I was most surprised by was that of all the murders in London during that year only one resulted in the death penalty being carried out.

There were many cases where the death penalty was passed but the person was reprieved. I think many people have the idea that in Victorian London a murder conviction always resulted in the hangman's noose but this is very far from being the case if this year is in any way representative.

There were many cases of babies or small children dying accidentally or being killed by their mothers or fathers. Again I was surprised by the leniency shown to women who had often given birth in secret and disposed of the child. The courts, the coroner and the police seemed to lean over backwards to find extenuating circumstances for the crime and hardly any of the women concerned actually ended up in prison.

The author suggests that this could also be because children were not considered as important then as they are now - life was cheap certainly when it came to infants. Men killing their wives were not so lucky and it seemed as though violence against women was starting to be unacceptable to authority as well as to society in general.

I loved the way the author brought all the cases to life by quoting from the trials and by providing details about the way people lived and worked in 1888. The book showed clearly that alcoholism - both men and women - and teenage gangs are nothing new.

The book contains an appendix which gives the statistics for those who are interested and there is also a chapter about the Ripper cases. There are notes on each chapter and a bibliography which provides suggestions for further reading. If you are interested to know about other people who met their death apart from the Ripper victims then try this book.