Jack the Ripper : Murder, Mystery and Intrigue in London's East End

by McNicoll, Susan

• ISBN13: 9781552659007
• ISBN10: 1552659003
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-03-03
• Publisher: Altitude Pub Canada Ltd

Summary

In the 1880s, the East End of London became the staging place for a series of bloodcurdling murders that caused outrage and widespread panic throughout the nation. Although many criminologists have speculated as to the identity of the killer, to this day the murderer is known only as Jack the Ripper. The tale of his four-month reign of terror is told in this gripping story.

Excerpts

Officially, she would be the first.As Polly went off in search of the fourpence needed for lodgings that night, the 42-year-old was about to go down in history. Three times during the day she had had enough money to sleep safe that night - and three times Polly drank it away.One of the coldest and wettest summers on record was coming to a close in 1888. A thunderstorm earlier in the evening and continuing sporadic showers made the cobblestone road very slippery. It was after 3:15 in the morning as she drunkenly staggered along Buck's Row in London's gritty East End.Polly was one of the "unfortunates", as Victorians called them who, for one reason or another, had turned to prostitution to survive.The section of road she walked along was narrow, with shabby, two-storey houses lining one side and high warehouse walls lining the other. The only light came from a single gas street lamp which, from the end of the road, cast long, eerie shadows on the cobblestones and left the pavement in virtual darkness.Hearing someone behind her in the street, Polly turned and saw a man in the distance. She paused to steady herself against a closed gateway. Hoping to offer her services and collect the money needed for the night's lodgings, she smoothed out her skirts and straightened her bonnet.Polly turned to face the man and started to say hello, but the word never left her lips. Clamping one hand over her mouth, he shoved her to the ground so viciously that her teeth cut into her tongue. With his other hand he gripped her throat, strangling her until she lost consciousness.The with a long-bladed knife, the man sliced a 4-inch cut across Polly's neck, followed by another longer swipe below it from left ear to right.