In 1998 at a serial killer conference hosted by Liverpool University, I met author Shirley Harrison, author of The Jack the Ripper Diary, Chilling Confessions of James Maybrick, and not only did she sign my copy, she also allowed me to hold the original Diary in my hands. What better way to kick off December book month than with a discussion of this book!
In summary the book narrates how the diary of James Maybrick, a cotton merchant from Liverpool during the 1800’s surfaced in 1992 and the revelations therein point to him being Jack the Ripper. James Maybrick was addicted to arsenic, a medication he took for malaria and it progressively affected his brain functioning. Although he lived in Liverpool he often travelled to London for business. Ms Harrison makes compelling comparisons between Jack and James.
In the famous Ripper Letters, the phrase ‘Ha Ha’ often features and incredulously this phrase also frequents the entries in James’ diary.
On 27 September 1888 the Central News Agency in London, received the first “Dear Boss” letter, written in red ink. The stamp indicated it was mailed on 25 September. It was initially regarded as a hoax, but nonetheless forwarded to Scotland Yard on 29 September.
The letter reads:
“Dear Boss,
I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha ha. The next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn’t you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife’s so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck. Yours truly
Jack the Ripper
Dont mind me giving the trade name”
On the side of the letter in red crayon was written:
“PS Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it. No luck yet. They say I’m a doctor now. ha ha”
The following evening of 30 September 1888, both Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were killed. As promised, a section of the auricle and earlobe of Catherine’s right ear had been severed. It seems the killer and the author of the ‘Dear Boss’ letter was one and the same person.
The Diary indicates James Maybrick first spotted his wife Florrie with her alleged lover at the Liverpool Shopping Centre, called Whitechapel – not to be confused with the notorious Whitechapel in London. Convinced she was having an affair James referred to her thereafter as either “the whore” or “the bitch”.
In the Diary it is written: “Whitechapel it will be and Whitechapel it shall, Whitechapel Liverpool Whitechapel London, Ha Ha. No one could possibly place it together. And indeed for there is no reason for anyone to do so.”
After the first murder of Mary Ann (Polly) Nicols on 31 August 1888, James and his friend George discussed whether the women in Liverpool were safe.
In the Diary it is written: “Indeed they can, for I will not play my funny little games on my own doorstep, Ha ha.”
He also wrote: “The head will come off next time, also the whore’s hands. Shall I leave them in various places about Whitechapel? Hunt the head and hands instead of the thimble Ha-ha.”
A week later, on 8 September 1888 Annie Chapman was killed. A description by Dr George Bagster Phillips of her corpse revealed her throat had been cut from left to right so deeply to the bones of her vertebral column and she had been disembowelled. Several personal items were found next to her body, including a piece of a torn envelope, with the letter M on it.
In the Diary it is written: “letter M its’ true Along with ha ha will catch clever Jim” and “… I wish to God I could have taken the head…”
The morgue examination revealed that part of her uterus and bladder was missing.
In the Diary it is written: “I took some away with me. It is in front of me. I intend to fry it and eat it later. Ha ha. The very thought works up my appetite.”
On 30 September, Elizabeth Stride was murdered but the killer was disturbed and shortly after he killed Catherine Eddowes. She was disembowelled, with her kidney removed and her face was disfigured. The postmortem revealed a deep cut over the bridge of the nose, extending from the left border of the nasal bone down near the angle of the jaw on the right side of the cheek. On each side of her cheeks was a cut which peeled up the skin, forming a triangular flap about an inch and a half.
The V-shape incisions on her cheeks were puzzling, but the two V’s could form an M.
In the Diary it is written: “The Thrill she gave me was unlike the others, I cut deep, deep, deep. Her nose annoyed me so I cut it off, had a go at her eyes, left my mark, could not get the bitches head off. I believe now it is impossible to do so. The whore never screamed. I took all I could away with me. I am saving it for a rainy day. Ha ha.”
As mentioned a piece of Catherine’s ear was sliced off, which bring us back to the full circle of the ‘Dear Boss’ letter, where it was promised that “I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn’t you.”
On 24 October 1888, James Maybrick turned 50 years old. In the second week of November 1888 he visited his brother Michael in Regent’s Park, London.
In the Diary it is written: “… I am convinced God placed me here to kill all whores, … The more I take the stronger I become. Michael was under the impression that once I had finished my business I was to return to Liverpool that very day. And indeed I did one day later. Ha ha.”
In the second week of November, on the 9th Mary Jane Kelly was killed. The mutilation of Kelly’s corpse was by far the most extensive of any of the Whitechapel murders with her intestines and body parts arranged on the table next to her bed.
In the Diary it is written: “I placed it all over the room… Regret I did not take any of it away with me it is supper time I could do with a kidney or two ha ha.
James’ health deteriorated rapidly the following months. He took a double dose of strychnineames on 27 April 1889 and he died on 11 May 1889. His wife Florrie was suspected by James’ brothers, accused, arrested and convicted of his murder. Florrie served 14 of her 15-year sentence and relocated back to America, where she lived her life in poverty and obscurity until 1941.
Did Florence Maybrick have the last laugh on Jack the Ripper? Read Shirley Harrison’s The Diary of Jack the Ripper, The Chilling Confessions of James Maybrick and find out. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, make up your own mind.
Top image: Illustrated Police News sketch of Dr George Bagster Phillips examining the body of Annie Chapman at 29 Hanbury Street Public Domain
