Trips to Beckenham Library helped an author research her book on a Jack the Ripper suspect. GLYNN GARLICK reads a biography which lets you draw your own conclusions.
A THEORY linking the Royal family to Jack the Ripper took off in the 1970s.
This linked Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward, known as Eddy, to the Whitechapel killings, with claims he had secretly married a Catholic and fathered a child.
According to the theory, prostitutes who knew the truth were murdered by the establishment.
Eddy, the eldest son of future King Edward VII, could not have been the killer - he was not in London at the time of some of the killings - so others connected with him were said to have committed them.
And this is where poet, lawyer and journalist James Kenneth Stephen comes in.
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He was the prince's tutor and has been named as a suspect.
Deborah McDonald's book The Prince, His Tutor and The Ripper takes a penetrating look at whether Stephen was the Ripper.
The Kensington childhood home James Kenneth Stephen
The Hayes-born author did much of her research at Beckenham Library in Beckenham Road.
And the 54-year-old mother-of-two said: "The staff were absolutely great in putting up with me ordering loads of obscure old books.
"As I walked in, their hearts must have sunk, as they knew I would be asking for yet another ancient book. But they never complained."
Ms McDonald's book is not a typical Jack the Ripper book. It does not claim to "prove" who the killer was.
Nor is it a general history which looks at the chances of major suspects being Jack.
It is a well-researched biography of Stephen using sources such as his mother's diary.
The book covers his time at Eton and Cambridge and the people he associated with.
It is believed Stephen was gay but pursued women with the aim of marrying them.
The book looks at Stephen's negative attitude towards women, which has been put forward as evidence of him being the Ripper.
Stephen also suffered mental illness and this has been used as part of the case against him.
Admin worker Ms McDonald, who has worked with people suffering mental health problems, shows Stephen's poems disparaging women were written when he had suffered disappointment in his personal life.
She also identifies links between Stephen and two other major Ripper suspects, Montague John Druitt and James Maybrick.
Stephen may have joined friends on trips to the East End, but has not been definitely linked to Whitechapel and did not match the usual description of the killer.
Ms McDonald, who now lives on the Isle of Wight, became interested in Jack the Ripper while researching a previous book which included a look at life in the East End in the 1880s.
Her new book shows Stephen could have been Jack the Ripper, but does not claim he definitely was.
Ms McDonald's book is not an ideal introduction to the Jack the Ripper legend for the general reader, but it is a superbly researched biography and history book about one of the suspects.
The book costs £22.50 from publisher Eurospan.
For more details, call 020 7240 0856 or email info@eurospangroup.com
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