Jack Is a Feminist Issue
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June/July 2018 No. 162 A Tribute to Katherine Amin Jack is a Feminist Issue MIICHAEL HAWLEY SPOTLIGHT ON RIPPERCAST: COLIN WILSON AT THE 1996 CONFERENCE HEATHER TWEED NINA and HOW BROWN JAN BONDESON THE BIG QUESTION VICTORIAN FICTION THE LATEST BOOK REVIEWS Ripperologist 118 January 2011 1 Ripperologist 162 June / July 2018 EDITORIAL: WHAT’S IN A NAME? Adam Wood JACK IS A FEMINIST ISSUE Katherine Amin THE NEW YORK WORLD’S E. TRACY GREAVES AND HIS SCOTLAND YARD INFORMANT Michael L Hawley THE BIG QUESTION Did the Police Know the Identity of the Ripper? Spotlight on Rippercast COLIN WILSON AT THE 1996 RIPPER CONFERENCE ZAZEL – THE HUMAN CANNONBALL Heather Tweed BEHIND BRASS BADGES AND IRON BARS Nina and Howard Brown FORD MADOX FORD, MURDER HOUSE DETECTIVE Jan Bondeson VICTORIAN FICTION: GLEAMS FROM THE DARK CONTINENT: THE WIZARD OF SWAZI SWAMP By Charles J Mansford Eduardo Zinna BOOK REVIEWS Paul Begg and David Green Ripperologist magazine is published by Mango Books (www.MangoBooks.co.uk). The views, conclusions and opinions expressed in signed articles, essays, letters and other items published in Ripperologist Ripperologist, its editors or the publisher. The views, conclusions and opinions expressed in unsigned articles, essays, news reports, reviews and other items published in Ripperologist are the responsibility of Ripperologist and its editorial team, but are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, conclusions and opinions of doWe not occasionally necessarily use reflect material the weopinions believe of has the been publisher. placed in the public domain. It is not always possible to identify and contact the copyright holder; if you claim ownership of something we have published we will be pleased to make a proper acknowledgement. The contents of Ripperologist No. 162, June / July 2018, including the compilation of all materials and the unsigned articles, essays, news reports, reviews and other items are copyright © 2018 Ripperologist/Mango Books. Cover photograph courtesy Trevor Bond. The authors of signed articles, essays, letters, news reports, reviews and other items retain the copyright of their respective contributions. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise circulated in any form or by any means, including digital, electronic, printed, mechanical, photocopying, recording or any other, without the prior permission in writing from Mango Books. The unauthorised domestic laws and international agreements and give rise to civil liability and criminal prosecution. reproduction or circulation of this publication or any part thereof, whether for monetary gain or not, is strictly prohibited and may constitute copyright infringement as defined in Ripperologist 162 June / July 2018 Editorial What’s in a Name? ADAM WOOD Executive Editor Welcome to the latest edition of Ripperologist. EXECUTIVE EDITOR Adam Wood We were delighted with the enthustiastic reception to our two new features, thank you all for your positive feedback. EDITORS Gareth Williams Firstly, The Big Question garnered some very interesting responses. Your Eduardo Zinna EDITOR-AT-LARGE comments to our first question - ‘Did the Police know the identity of the Ripper? - Jonathan Menges illustrate the wide-ranging thought processes of students of the case, and give great See page 22 for details. REVIEWS EDITOR food for thought. We hope that our next question meets the same consideration. Ripperologist 161 also saw the introduction of Spotlight on Rippercast, where Paul Begg COLUMNISTS Nina and Howard Brown RipperJonathan luminaries Menges transcribeson the photographs excerpts of from the victims. his extensive The second vault inof the Ripper-related series, given David Green podcast discussions. The first instalment saw a conversation between a number of in this issue, is a transcription of Ripper author Colin Wilson’s lecture delivered at ARTWORK Adam Wood fascinating reading. the very first Jack the Ripper Conference, at Ipswich way back in 1996. It makes for introduction to Alexander Kelly’s Jack the Ripper: A Bibliography and Review of Ripperologist magazine is It was Colin Wilson, of course, who first coined the term ‘Ripperologist’, in his published six times a year and the Literature supplied in digital format. It is free of charge to subscribers. years the word in has 1973, been and used this as work the title receives of this a magazine;brief mention perhaps at the still start the of most his 1996 lecture, with the author given his real name, David Streatfield. For some 23 appropriate phrase to describe the humble student of the Whitechapel murders. available in PDF format on our Back issues from 62-161 are website. An index to Ripperologist WhitechapelOver the years, murders of course, being thelegitimate term has history, been usedof course. less-than-kindly by ‘outsiders’ magazine can also be downloaded. to describe those interested in the case - we being seen as ‘weirdos’, despite the This perception has surfaced again, most recently on Twitter, with an exchange To be added to the mailing list, between Paul Begg and Hallie Rubenhold, author of the forthcoming book on the to submit a book for review or canonical victims, The Five. A debate ensued, with several of Hallie’s followers to place an advertisement, get in touch at contact@ripperologist. co.uk held beliefs being challenged; no doubt true of a very few, yet not the vast majority ofjoining researchers, in, claiming who thatwelcome Ripperology new information is a ‘closed with shop’ welcome that doesn’t arms. Nevertheless,like its long- articles on any aspect of the we look forward to Hallie’s book with great anticipation, and eagerly wait to hear We welcome well-researched Whitechapel murders, the East End or the Victorian era in general. We hope you enjoy this issue of Ripperologist what she has to say at the Whitechapel Society’s ‘Victims’ event on 8th September. www.ripperologist.co.uk , and don’t forget - we welcome your articles on all aspects of the case and the East end - especially those containing conventional wisdom-challenging information! 1 Ripperologist 162 June / July 2018 Jack is a Feminist Issue By KATHERINE AMIN 12 March 1980 - 15 July 2018 We were deeply saddened by the recent death of Katherine Amin née Bradshaw after a courageous battle with cancer. Kate embodied everything that was good in Ripperology. The following article, which we are proud to republish from 2015 as a tribute to Kate, perfectly showcases her understanding of the murders in both a modern and historical context. Jack the Ripper and Feminism; they don’t seem to be focusing on battles and military leaders or a Marxist natural allies do they? Recent events would seem to historian focusing on the role of class and class struggle suggest that, in fact, the only relationship between the in shaping society. Although I have a very broad interest two is a hostile one. I don’t believe that this is the case however. I believe that there is a very real distinction out the hidden stories of the part played by women in key between true study of the Ripper case and the sort in history I have certainly developed an interest in finding historical events. As there are many overlapping feminist of exploitative business endeavours which usually movements and ideologies that have developed over the incur the wrath of feminist groups. And it’s a wrath I sympathise with. For the sake of this article, I would like to clarify what Look at the preponderance of Ripper Merchandise and years it is difficult to come to a single definition. what you will see is a glamorised character, a folk myth in my reading of what historical feminism is in this context: victims. The history of the Ripper in the media seems to perspective and is a movement to promote women’s place a top hat often pictured with 1950s pinup-girl glamorous ‘Feminist History is the study of history from a female back this idea up. Jack the Myth, Jack the nursery rhyme villain, Jack the subject of a musical which promised in History, by ensuring equality of representation’. “scenes of fun, terror, song and dance”. To mythologise the So, does History now become ‘Herstory’, as one Ripper in such a way is, in my opinion, an affront to the No. Although a clever play on words, History as a pure women he killed, but it remains the public face of Jack. commenter on a Jack the Ripper webpage asked me? specialises. That being said, you may ask why so much discipline is not gender specific; it is the historian who written history tends to concentrate on men in a way The question remains, is there something inherently I call myself a feminist historian although in truth I misogynistic about having an interest in Jack the Ripper? that would have you believing women were a modern didn’t take a feminist degree, I am not Kate Bradshaw BA invention. This is simply because history has tended to Fem and I am not employed as a feminist teacher. I use focus on the lives of the rich and of the exploits of Kings this term because I have a special interest in the history and Leaders. Think back to the women of the past who of women. we remember: Elizabeth I perhaps, Cleopatra, even our own dear Queen Victoria, and what we are really seeing in history, you may for example be a military historian are women who took on roles meant for men. Scratch So, what is feminist history? There are lots of disciplines 2 Ripperologist 162 June / July 2018 the surface, however, and history is teeming with women Ripper are linked has to be considered the same way that whose stories have been forgotten by the multitude.