Edmund Reid

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Overall, then, Hainsworth’s theory seems to me to stumble at the very first hurdle. In the first place, Macnaghten could have stated that the identity of the murderer was known and that he committed suicide without giving the potentially identifying details about when and how he died. Setting aside Hainsworth’s theory, off the top of my head the last book about Druitt was D J Leighton’s Ripper Suspect in 2006, and so much interesting information has come to light since then that a book bringing it together between two covers has been long overdue. I’ve already mentioned some of this information, namely Farquharson and Richardson. In 1892 an East End Catholic priest allegedly left a sealed packet addressed to Sir Edward Bradford in which was revealed the identity of Jack the Ripper, information apparently received under seal of the confessional. Hainsworth also examines the “North-country Vicar” story; a north-country vicar claimed that a fellow clergyman had received under seal of the confessional an admission to having committed the Jack the Ripper murders. The vicar had agreed to make the admission public, but in a form so heavily fictionalised that the murderer’s identity could never be learned. The vicar himself apparently bore a name which would help identify the killer and he asked the newspaper not to publish it, a request to which the newspaper remarkably agreed and did nothing further to pursue the story. Hainsworth suggests the identity of the vicar. Jonathan’s discovery of the family connection between Montague John Druitt and Col. Vivian Dering Majendie (1836-1850), the Home Office’s first and muchrespected explosives expert, is new and interesting and evidently something to which he attaches great importance, believing him to be the conduit between Druitt’s immediate family and Macnaghten and Sims. This is a possibility: knowing the importance of the case and the way in which the failure of the police to catch the Ripper had badly tarnished the reputation of Scotland Yard worldwide, we may assume that Majendie, himself a Scotland Yard man and a friend of senior policemen, may have put the good name of the Metropolitan Police above his family name and conveyed family suspicions about Montague to Macnaghten. But what would he have expected Macnaghten to do - keep the information quiet and do nothing? Investigate the suspicions as would have been his duty, thereby bringing other people of different ranks in on the “secret”? Undertake no investigations, but leak the story to the press via journalist and writer friends like Griffiths and Sims, providing just enough information to set any self-respecting investigative journalist on the trail of the suspect’s identity? There’s not enough information to allow comfortable theorising, but the fact is that Macnaghten gave away sufficient information for Druitt to be identified, and if journalists had been more aggressive newshounds than they appear to have been, his identity would surely have been known. It is difficult to believe that he was really trying to protect anyone. Indeed, it is entirely possible that Druitt’s name was already in or making its way into the public domain, albeit not in print. Finally, Hainsworth has uncovered assorted stories which he believes to be based on the Thames drownee. Marie Belloc Lowndes classic The Lodger comes under scrutiny, as does a tale by Guy Logan. Also, three short stories by G R Sims. Like a lot of Hainsworth’s material, much of this material has been discussed on the forums, but this is the first time it has appeared in a book. It deserves close analysis. In fact, it’s a pity that Hainsworth has discussed his theory so extensively on the forums, where it must be said that his theorising has generally been greeted with disagreement and, it is sad to say, occasional vile comments. Jonathan Hainsworth comes close to writing a biography of the Eton-obsessed Macnaghten, a grown man embracing a little boy’s love of manly sports like cricket and a sense of adventure. He doesn’t achieve it - and a biography was never his intention - but his efforts to delve into the mind of the man to explain his view of the world and why he wrote what he did are well worth reading. Finally, there are some great new photographs in this book too. Overall, Jonathan’s book is a conspiracy theory and one that probably goes way over the top, Macnaghten being Ripperologist 147 December 2015 58
portrayed as a super-cop and Druitt as a super-suspect, a sort of Holmes and Moriarty, but with Holmes commanding a web of intrigue as he manipulates the likes of Sims and Griffiths, dribble information here and there, guiding them towards and moving them away, until his retirement gave him his own voice. It all seems too improbable to be true. But something may lay behind Hainsworth’s grand theorising and web-weaving. It’s not been easy to subject it to proper analysis when discussed piecemeal on the forums, now it is set forth calmly in a book it can be considered carefully. Overall, Jonathan Hainsworth’s book must be considered on three levels. First and foremost, it brings together all the new information relating to the Thames suicide/Druitt suspect that has emerged in recent years. Secondly, it paints a mini portrait of Macnaghten which goes a little way to creating a more rounded figure. And thirdly, it presents Jonathan’s theory, which put in its simplest form, is that Macnaghten wanted it known that the Ripper was caught, but didn’t want it known who he was. One doesn’t have to agree with all or any of this, but it’s great food for thought. We’ve needed a new book about Druitt for quite some time and whilst one might have wished that it wasn’t this one, venturing a contentious theory that’s difficult to attach credence, it is nevertheless good to have. Hainsworth has done some excellent research and the new photographs are great. The biggest downside to this book is the outrageous cover price, but take a look round and you can get it at least £10 cheaper. Overall, 2015 kept the best for last. If you had to buy one Ripper book this year, this would be it. Partners in Blood: Media & Jack the Ripper Craig Fraley CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2015 ISBN: 9781519716446 Softcover and ebook; 412pp; Softcover £9.95, Ebook £1.99 Rip-off time again. But at least Craig Fraley is honest about it. “All the information in this book can be found online” he says in his introduction, or “Disclaimer” as he calls it. And the emboldened emphasis is his too. He even admits that the newspaper reports can be found on Casebook.org. Quite a few books reprinting press reports have appeared over the past few years and the majority mercilessly plunder the transcribed newspaper reports freely available on Casebook. Most add nothing. Fraley is different. He has written his own text, then, whenever he seems able, he quotes from the newspapers, often very long extracts from the inquest reports in the Times. We’ve seen it all before. Ripperologist 147 December 2015 59
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No. 147 December 2015 Edmund Reid N
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The Anniversary Waltz EDITORIAL by
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So you never obtained a description
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poor mutilated woman turned his bra
Page 9 and 10: As in other interviews given by Rei
Page 11 and 12: Edmund Reid at Hampton-on-Sea makin
Page 13 and 14: This sounds similar to Yuri Gagarin
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Page 17 and 18: Sir Charles Warren Over the years,
Page 19 and 20: The register also tells us how much
Page 21 and 22: John George Littlechild was Initiat
Page 23 and 24: JTRForums: A Decade of Dedication B
Page 25 and 26: I've been focused on newspapers for
Page 27 and 28: him outside the docks, and because
Page 29 and 30: We have seen the sweater engaging h
Page 31 and 32: From the Casebooks of a Murder Hous
Page 33 and 34: As for murder house detection aspec
Page 35 and 36: Inspector Ross decided to try a few
Page 37 and 38: The murder house at No. 9 Adelphi T
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Page 41 and 42: tirades against himself; he was wor
Page 43 and 44: Newspaper photographs of Margery Wr
Page 45 and 46: An unexpected survivor: the little
Page 47 and 48: He bared his breast and exposed the
Page 49 and 50: Victorian Fiction The Last House in
Page 51 and 52: The Last House in C-- Street By Din
Page 53 and 54: ‘We did all we could to persuade
Page 55 and 56: ‘“Nonsense, Patty!” But it ha
Page 57 and 58: Mrs MacArthur stopped, wiped her ey
Page 59: Jack the Ripper- Case Solved, 1891
Page 63 and 64: London Fog: A Memoir Christine L Co
Page 65 and 66: he made his living by writing anony
Page 67 and 68: The Ice Cream Blonde: The Whirlwind
Page 69 and 70: Scholars of the wild west seem agre
Page 71 and 72: Ripper Fiction with DAVID GREEN The
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Edmund Reid

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