Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #300044 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 156 pages

Review
As a subscriber to the 'Rippercast' podcast series, I have heard Christopher Scott speak on the subject of Mary Kelly many times. He has exhaustively researched this shadow woman's past, poring over press reports and genealogical records in his quest to reassemble the human being that lived, laughed, and loved before she was reduced to bloody pieces in Miller's Court. When I found out that he published his findings in a book, I hurried to order a copy.

"Will the Real Mary Kelly" is the definitive guide to all that has been uncovered about the last canonical Ripper victim to this point. First, Scott summarizes the biographical information provided by Kelly's lover, Joseph Barnett, and her friends and associates. Then he presents the results of his research, offering some possible candidates for the woman who called herself Mary Jane Kelly. He does not boast a final solution, but gives the reader some intriguing possibilities. Given the fact that women of Mary's class frequently reinvented their pasts, he should be applauded for getting even that far.

In other chapters, Scott debunks some myths that surround the Kelly case, namely what was burned in the fireplace the night she was murdered, and whether not she was pregnant when she died.

"Will the Real Mary Kelly" provides no general overview of the Ripper murders, so it can't be recommended for anyone new to the case. It's a niche volume aimed at the more seasoned aficionado. And that's not a bad thing. By not catering to the popular history market, Christopher Scott has greater contributed to the field of Ripper studies." --True crime author - Rose Keefe January 2009

Synopsis
The last generally acknowledged victim of Jack the Ripper was twenty five year old Irishwoman named Mary Jane Kelly. Or was she? So little is known of this young woman, so thoroughly has she evaded all attempts at researching her life that, in all truth, there is very little we can actually say we know about her. Whilst research has led to significant advances in other areas of the Whitechapel crimes, she remains an enigma. This book pulls together what we can learn and reasonably infer about this most elusive victim of the most elusive killer in criminal history.

Customer Reviews

Great book!
"Will the Real Mary Kelly...?" written by Christopher Scott is really a first class work. The book is well written and very well researched. Even if a quick read (only 152 pages and no illustrations) the book cover completely the murder of Mary Kelly and try to find logic explanation to the mysteries connected with the Miller's Court Murder. In front of a mystery, Chris Scott provides the reader with the entire possible scenario, trying to find the more reliable one, basing his judgement on evidence and pointing out that his solution was not definitive because the facts are scare. The missing key, the fireplace, the clothes found in Mary's room, the account of the witnesses, the rent in arrears, her lovers, her time of death...everything is analyzed in details. In addition, the author tried with to find the real Mary Kelly looking in the census and in the BMD (Birth, Marriage and Death) certificates. He found some candidates and came up with the most likely. Highly recommend.

Antonio Sironi

More Mystery
This book is essential for anyone interested in the Jack the Ripper case. It opens up another mystery. Mary Jane Kelly appears not to have officially existed. No relatives can be found, no entries on the census, etc. It is odd that nobody at the time in Limerick appears to know who she was, even though this was a very high profile murder case.

Great additional title for your Ripper shelves
This is an excellent book for those who wish to supplement their knowledge of the Jack the Ripper murders, covering what little is known about the generally accepted fifth, and possibly final, of the Ripper's canonical victims. Scott does a fine job of outlining the background to the offences, without rehashing the detail of previous victims; his approach certainly assumes that readers will come to the book with some knowledge of the crimes, but still gives sufficient information about them to make sense of the main content of the book. He collates all that was known to the date of publication about Kelly and those with whom she associated, bringing contemporary data together in one place, and provides a sound, but not overbearing, commentary on those data, examining them for veracity and possible openings into finding more information about Mary Jane Kelly. He also provides a good summary on some of the theories put forward about her, with specific relation to those that suggest that Kelly was the 'explanatory' victim, the one who could possibly provide us with suggestions about the killer's motive and/or identity. Throughout, his tone is accessible and moderate, making this an easy book to get through, and identify the main points.
The one tiny criticism I have (and it's really just one of personal preference) is that, at times, the genealogical information he provides on Kelly's (possible) associates and identity is sometimes too exhaustive. There is a slight over-emphasis on the research process (elimination of possible subjects in census data), and I think this could possibly have been condensed to the general benefit of a smooth narrative. It's not a big problem, though, and many readers will, I am sure, enjoy this element of the book.
So--highly recommended, just as long as you're not looking for the ultimate, general, Ripper sourcebook. In many ways it's one of the more poignant Ripper-related books: a search for the identity of a woman whose life has been lost--in more ways than one.