The Ripper Code

by ThomasToughill (Author)

• New

  Hardcover
  2008

  $18.36

  In The Ripper Code , Thomas Toughill, the author of the masterly Oscar Slater, The Immortal case of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , applies his detective skills to the greatest mystery in British Criminology, the identity of Jack the Ripper. The result is a book which is as original as it is enthralling. Toughill suggests that Jack the Ripper was a former 'friend' of Oscar Wilde and that Wilde dropped hints about this in several of his works, most notably The Picture of Dorian Gray , which Wilde wrote in 1889, the year after the Ripper murders took place. In fascinating detail, the author argues that Wilde's story, that of a privileged man whose life of vice in the East End of London turns him into a murderer, is in fact a coded message about the Ripper's identity. However, The Ripper Code is not just a fascinating voyage through the writings of Oscar Wilde and others. It is also a striking example of original detective work.Here, as in his previous books, Toughill unveils stunning evidence from a hitherto untapped source and uses it to devastating effect in arguing his case. Jack the Ripper apart, Toughill's research into Oscar Wilde will force a major reappraisal of that most charismatic of writers. Wilde boasted that he enjoyed 'feasting with panthers'. Here is a fresh insight into what he meant.