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A review by gkneveu
The Diary of Jack the Ripper: The Chilling Confessions of James Maybrick by Shirley Harrison
4.0
I suppose I should start off by saying that I totally believe that the diary is genuine. I was basically convinced after watching the documentary based on this book and after reading the book, I'm even more convinced. So, with that disclaimer out of the way, I want to talk about writing and overall quality of the book.
I don't think you need to believe in the authenticity of the diary to enjoy this book or find it interesting. I also don't think you need to have any interest in Jack the Ripper before you read this book, I sure didn't. However, I would recommend that you watch the documentary first and if your interest is peaked, read the book. The documentary is a good preview to the book for people who don't know anything about the diary or about Jack the Ripper.
Though this book is incredibly interesting, I found the writing to, at times, be rather irritating. She writes with a journalistic style, which is not at all meant as a complement. The writing was often unnecessarily verbose. It sometimes felt like she ate a thesaurus. Also, holy mother of exclamation points. (Okay, as much as I'm complaining it doesn't really get in the way of the information being conveyed, but I certainly wouldn't want to read any fiction from her).
Besides the writing, I don't have any complaints. This is an utterly fascinating book. I thought it was very well organized and was clear and upfront about the facts. There is so much more in the book than in the documentary (also make sure you get the most recent addition which has updates).
There are several different "narratives" in the book: there's the story of how the diary was found and what happened to the family that found it; there's the story of researching the diary and writing the book; there's, of course, the story of James Maybrick, first presented separately from the diary; the historical facts of Jack the Ripper; James Maybrick and Jack the Ripper viewed from the perspective of the diary; the story of the trial; and finally what happened to the Maybrick family. Every part is fascinating. Even if you don't believe in the authenticity of the diary, the story of the diary itself is worthwhile and so is everything that was discovered about the Maybrick family and the sensational trial of Florence Maybrick.
I don't think you need to believe in the authenticity of the diary to enjoy this book or find it interesting. I also don't think you need to have any interest in Jack the Ripper before you read this book, I sure didn't. However, I would recommend that you watch the documentary first and if your interest is peaked, read the book. The documentary is a good preview to the book for people who don't know anything about the diary or about Jack the Ripper.
Though this book is incredibly interesting, I found the writing to, at times, be rather irritating. She writes with a journalistic style, which is not at all meant as a complement. The writing was often unnecessarily verbose. It sometimes felt like she ate a thesaurus. Also, holy mother of exclamation points. (Okay, as much as I'm complaining it doesn't really get in the way of the information being conveyed, but I certainly wouldn't want to read any fiction from her).
Besides the writing, I don't have any complaints. This is an utterly fascinating book. I thought it was very well organized and was clear and upfront about the facts. There is so much more in the book than in the documentary (also make sure you get the most recent addition which has updates).
There are several different "narratives" in the book: there's the story of how the diary was found and what happened to the family that found it; there's the story of researching the diary and writing the book; there's, of course, the story of James Maybrick, first presented separately from the diary; the historical facts of Jack the Ripper; James Maybrick and Jack the Ripper viewed from the perspective of the diary; the story of the trial; and finally what happened to the Maybrick family. Every part is fascinating. Even if you don't believe in the authenticity of the diary, the story of the diary itself is worthwhile and so is everything that was discovered about the Maybrick family and the sensational trial of Florence Maybrick.