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Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert Kindle Edition

by Patricia Cornwell (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 out of 5 stars 3,476
Editors' pick Best History
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A #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller.

From New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell comes Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert, a comprehensive and intriguing exposé of one of the world's most chilling cases of serial murder—and the police force that failed to solve it.

Vain and charismatic Walter Sickert made a name for himself as a painter in Victorian London. But the ghoulish nature of his art—as well as extensive evidence—points to another name, one that's left its bloody mark on the pages of history: Jack the Ripper. Cornwell has collected never-before-seen archival material—including a rare mortuary photo, personal correspondence and a will with a mysterious autopsy clause—and applied cutting-edge forensic science to open an old crime to new scrutiny.

Incorporating material from Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper—Case Closed, this new edition has been revised and expanded to include eight new chapters, detailed maps and hundreds of images that bring the sinister case to life.

Note: This book contains images that some readers may find disturbing.

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  1. Print length
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    English
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    Thomas & Mercer
  5. Publication date
    February 28, 2017
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    593629 KB
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  1. Modern research on prison inmates diagnosed as psychopathic shows that more than 80 percent of those studied were abused as children.
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  2. Twenty-eight-year-old Sickert had given up the theater for art and was a student of the American master James McNeill Whistler.
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  3. Nemo is Latin for “nobody.”
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Editorial Reviews

Review

An Amazon Best Book of the Month: History

“A groundbreaking revisitation of one of history’s most notorious and hotly debated unsolved mysteries. Patricia Cornwell’s knowledge of criminology and forensics is near unrivaled, and her passionate and informed narration—told with unwavering conviction—may just tip the scales of justice once and for all.” —Criminal Element

“A highly readable exposé of perhaps the world’s most famously chilling case of serial murder; the vain efforts of the police to solve the crimes; and the compelling revelations [Patricia’s] exhaustive research has unearthed.” —The Huffington Post

About the Author

Patricia Cornwell was born in Florida and raised in North Carolina. She sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. Postmortem was her first bona fide forensic thriller, and it would go on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du roman d’aventures. Since then, she’s authored twenty-nine New York Times bestsellers and won the Sherlock Award, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.

To date, Cornwell’s books have sold over 100 million copies in 36 languages in over 120 countries. She now lives in Boston, where she tirelessly researches advanced forensic techniques to include in her work.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01F733S30
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas & Mercer (February 28, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 28, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 593629 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 570 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 3,476

About the author

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Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell

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In 1990, Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize—the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Growing into an international phenomenon, the Scarpetta series won Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.

Today, Cornwell’s novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, cookbooks, a children’s book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and two other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano and Andy Brazil. While writing Quantum, Cornwell spent two years researching space, technology, and robotics at Captain Calli Chase’s home base, NASA’s Langley Research Center, and studied cutting-edge law enforcement and security techniques with the Secret Service, the US Air Force, NASA Protective Services, Scotland Yard, and Interpol.

Cornwell was born in Miami. She grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston and Los Angeles.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
3,476 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

OLD1mIKE
5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2019
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After all these years, it’s doubtful anyone will know absolutely whether Walter Sickert was Jack the Ripper. But Patrica Cornwell makes a compelling argument, writes a good story and keeps it interesting.

Well researched and interesting. An update of her 2002 “Portrait of a Killer” book with additional information. Maps, pictures, timelines and other graphics make it easier to stay engaged. Some graphics are animated, so set “Media Auto Play” to Auto. Not only the gory details, but also a rich history of cultural and historic 19th century London. Her team applied scientific methods, such as paper analysis and DNA gives a new unique approach to an old story. Spoiler, you have to get to page 250 to start seeing the scientific arguments. Some criticized her for speculating. She is obviously obsessed with the general topic and the historical period, so there is some speculation and “What-if-ness. But, speculation is an inherent component of the “Scientific Method”: Observe, Form a Hypothesis (speculate), Make a Prediction, Test the Hypothesis and Iterate using the test results. Admittedly, the absolute scientific proof isn’t there. Her personell interest and knowledge takes the book a bit astray from basic facts with a lot of history and culture. Almost a conversation. But the book is interesting, well researched, well written and worth the read.
7 people found this helpful
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Angela
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining but probably not in the way she intended.
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2017
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Cornwell's work on the Ripper is entertaining - not in the manner of a master detective putting the pieces together. More in the manner of an eccentric aunt who comes to family get-togethers once every few years and, after drinking a few glasses of wine, will tell you exactly who killed Kennedy and why with the authority of someone who was there even though she wasn't born at the time.
Cornwell's entire case is subjective and her facts are mostly insinuation.
In fact, her book should be taught in classrooms as a classic example of how to create propaganda. She conflates Sickert and the Ripper constantly - not even separating the two in the most basic sense of the persona of the Ripper vs the persona of Sickert. Often she'll use the name Sickert when referring to the Rippers actions and call Sickert the Ripper when referring to Sickert's known actions. It was a little confusing at times.
Facts about Sickert are placed next to possible activities of the Ripper - one example that made me laugh out loud is a bloody bakers knife that might have been from a Ripper crime next to "Sickert loved to bake". That sounds like evidence to me. Jeez.
Its hard to say how she came to her conclusions about Sickert's inner life and relationships. Quotes about him are usually completely decontextualized - in one section a whole sentence is made out of multiple one or two word quotes. She does have a good explanation as to why she doesn't quote more extensively (the people who control these sources wouldn't give permission). I'd be more inclined to believe her version of these stories but her whole perspective of Sickert seems to be colored by the intense emotional response she had to his paintings. I looked at many of the paintings she references and I have to say I do NOT see what she sees.
Suddenly everything is evidence of guilt, even stuff that was common (Sickert was intrigued by the Ripper, snubbed Oscar Wilde after his imprisonment and owned a red kerchief) and a few things that contradicted. Sickert didn't regularly date or mark location on his letters. SNEAKY. Sickert regularly made dated drawings that showed exactly where he was. Oh slipped up! He could have been near some Ripper killings. Sickert was a germophobe. Ripper probably killed in a manner that would make it easier to avoid bodily fluids. Ripper wrapped body parts in newspaper. Sickert wrapped paintings in newspaper. Sickert had multiple art studios. No one knew their locations so now they're bolt holes. Maybe they're near the murders? Who knows? Sounds incriminating to me. Ripper might have worn disguises. Sickert had a habit of wearing disguises. I mean, really?
Supposedly she showed her evidence to an officer who said she had enough for a search warrant. I'd like to know what evidence that was, because I see no evidence.
There are a few interesting points she makes. Its probable that Sickert (or someone close to him) wrote a couple of "Ripper letters". This isn't really surprising - based on what I've read about the time period Ripper letters were the Twitter parody accounts of the time. I've read at least one contemporary account (that unfortunately I don't remember the source for) that casually mentioned a relative who wrote Ripper letters and then watched for them in the papers. Its only significant because Cornwell has decided that most of the Ripper letters are "real". Her evidence? A handwriting expert that determined that most of the letters were written by the same person imitating different hands. Bizarrely in the book she actually points out at some length that handwriting isn't a science but still uses this determination as authorative. She doesn't appear to worry about or discuss any letters that she can't directly examine except for the From Hell letter (which is the most likely to be "legitimate" due to the included kidney).
It does appear there were more Ripper killings that commonly acknowledged though I don't agree with all of the killings she places under that umbrella (usually due to the killings closeness to where Sickert might have been) and it does seem likely that some of the Ripper letters might have been written by other killers who were either copycats or triggered into fulfilling murderous desires after reading the detailed newspaper accounts. But her conclusions that all of them are legitimate is a stretch.
There's also a strange undercurrent of anti-intellectualism. She lists off the many languages Sickert knew as if they were evidence. She claims very basic rhymes in Ripper letters are "too clever for an illiterate." Whenever she hits an investigative dead end she treats it like a purposeful act of the Ripper - as if he predicted her investigation and the kind of technology we'd have today.
Cornwell appears to dislike Sickert intensely. I'm sure she would crisply say that she dislikes Sickert because she dislikes murderers. She handwaves away all arguments against her beliefs as people defending Sickert for their own reasons. I've heard some cynical views of why she's so intense on this issue (she did buy a lot of Sickert art and memorabilia before publishing her first book) - I tend to think she's a true believer.
I'm not going to say Sickert was an angel - if her account is to be believed (and I'm not sure it is) it sounds like Sickert was a deeply unpleasant man who had his share of secrets. I suppose this book doesn't DISPROVE anything and Sickert has been linked to the Ripper murders before. But men have been cold to their wives, told wild third hand tales about famous murderers, and had strange habits without being murderers throughout human history. Even her most compelling evidence requires accepting a lot of assumptions.
Anyway this is an entertaining book - even a thought provoking one. If you enjoy conspiracy theories as thought experiments this might be up your alley.
113 people found this helpful
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BET
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read in you're into Ripper conspericy theories and lesser or unknown suspects at that time
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2017
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Well written, but a stretch that Sickert was the Ripper. Evidence such as his mentor believing he was in London during one of the Ripper murders smacks of trying to force unconfirmed suppositions to conform to the Ripper murders, and this is just one example. Another being paintings that supposedly depicted Ripper killings, and his attending shows at the dance hall that would have him walking the streets where some of the murders took place (not mentioning that other people were on the streets at the very same time (witnesses to the actual killings, others attending the shows, etc.). The biggest problem I have though is that the monstrous fiend that committed the the butchery of the Mary Jeanette Kelly murder, was at this point totally out of control and probably would have escalated even further in future murders causing him to be eventually caught. The author tries to suggest that murders that happen after Mary Kelly's (which most seem to believe was the Ripper's last) and were more similar to earlier Ripper murders (indicating some deescalation on his part) could also have been done by Sickert, yet no strong evidence is really provided. I believe he wouldn't have stopped and would have most likely escalated where as Sickert seemed at this point not to be very strong on the authorities radar. This author's theory, seems very similar to the unbelievable American Ripper documentary series now On the History channel, which in my opinion, is also making vague suppositions to fit in as stated facts (i.e. H. H. Holmes may have been in London during the Ripper murder time frame because no documentation could be found during that time placing him in Chicago. They don't mention that this could apply to millions of others that also couldn't be proved not to be in London during the same time period). In closing this review, if you like conspiracy theories, then this book may be of interest.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Celestino
5.0 out of 5 stars Libro historia
Reviewed in Mexico on December 20, 2018
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Excelente ,muy bueno libro
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BlueM
5.0 out of 5 stars Great seller and item!
Reviewed in Italy on June 2, 2019
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Great and very fast seller! The book arrived very soon and the edition is so nice! Recommended!!
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L. Wilcox
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended - for Ripper fans and would-be sleuths !
Reviewed in Canada on April 18, 2017
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Item arrived days ahead of delivery "deadline". Exactly as promised, well packaged. As an amateur sleuth and Ripper fan, I found the book and writing excellent. Only issue is with the author seeming to make everything a "clue", often out of the slimmest, vaguest circumstances.
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Corinne Downes
5.0 out of 5 stars Patricia Cornwell doesn't deserve the criticism - Well researched and logical.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 26, 2017
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Patricia Cornwell is a respected, talented writer and researcher. Of all the theories on the identity of this killer, hers seems the most plausible. Of course due to the inefficient and somewhat sloppy way law enforcement worked in the late 1800s when it concerned the unfortunates and poor, there will never be a conclusive piece of evidence unless someone finds a long hidden confession by the man himself in one of his old bolt holes. It would not surprise me if it exists, his ego was such, it seems. I've read some of the other reviews and I think criticism of Cornwell's view and well-researched books sound mostly like sour grapes from those who could not tolerate being wrong about their long held and publicised views of the authors. It would certainly impact their future royalties if they were wrong. Well done to Cornwell for her work, I believe she's right. Note to author: I would definitely get out of this for now - it can eat you alive.
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A T
5.0 out of 5 stars Ripper: The Secret Lif of Walter Sickert
Reviewed in Australia on July 17, 2021
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The delivery was quick. The book was as described (new). I am very happy with the book, and am sure it will be a good read.
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