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The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Stories
Maxim Jakubowski, together with Nathan Braund, edited the bestselling Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper (1999), which has reprinted several times and was reissued in 2008 in a revised and expanded edition. The book focused on the countless theories that have been put forward with regard to the identity of the notorious Victorian serial killer and offered an extensive 100-page section presenting all the known facts in the case. It included 30 essays written by the most famous, often controversial Ripperologists putting forward their own theories. It remains one of the few titles to offer a series of alternative solutions to Jack the Ripper's identity and the truth behind the Whitechapel murders. But how many new theories and identities can researchers come up with? In this wonderful collection of brand-new stories, Jakubowski has compiled an extraordinary array of explorations into the identity of Jack the Ripper - this time unabashedly fictional, unrestrained by history and the known facts. Contributors include Carol Anne Davis, Martin Edwards, Peter Guttridge, Barbara Nadel;Alvaro Zinos-Amaro and Sally Spedding. 'Jack the Ripper' has appeared in a number of novels, as the lead character in some, beginning with Marie Belloc Lowndes's The Lodger (1913), filmed by Hitchcock. Authors as diverse as Michael Dibdin, Lindsay Faye, Philip Jose Farmer, Robert Bloch, Harlan Ellison, Alan Moore, Fredric Brown, Ramsey Campbell and Colin Wilson have all used poetic licence to 'revive' the notorious killer. The varied stories in this fantastic new collection continue this tradition with many possible identities put forward, some already suggested by historians, others more speculative, including famous names from history and fiction. Even Sherlock Holmes is on the case!
576 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2015
12 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Maxim Jakubowski
279 books161 followersMaxim Jakubowski is a crime, erotic, and science fiction writer and critic.
Jakubowski was born in England by Russian-British and Polish parents, but raised in France. Jakubowski has also lived in Italy and has travelled extensively. Jakubowski edited the science fiction anthology Twenty Houses of the Zodiac in 1979 for the 37th World Science Fiction Convention (Seacon '79) in Brighton. He also contributed a short story to that anthology. He has now published almost 100 books in a variety of areas.
He has worked in book publishing for many years, which he left to open the Murder One bookshop[1], the UK's first specialist crime and mystery bookstore. He contributes to a variety of newspapers and magazines, and was for eight years the crime columnist for Time Out and, presently, since 2000, the crime reviewer for The Guardian. He is also the literary director of London's Crime Scene Festival and a consultant for the International Mystery Film Festival, Noir in Fest, held annually in Courmayeur, Italy. He is one the leading editors in the crime and mystery and erotica field, in which he has published many major anthologies.
His novels include "It's You That I Want To Kiss", "Because She Thought She Loved Me", "The State Of Montana", "On Tenderness Express", "Kiss me Sadly" and "Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer". His short story collections are "Life in the World of Women", "Fools for Lust" and the collaborative "American Casanova". He is a regular broadcaster on British TV and radio and was recently voted the 4th Sexiest Writer of 2,007 on a poll on the crimespace website.
Jakubowski was born in England by Russian-British and Polish parents, but raised in France. Jakubowski has also lived in Italy and has travelled extensively. Jakubowski edited the science fiction anthology Twenty Houses of the Zodiac in 1979 for the 37th World Science Fiction Convention (Seacon '79) in Brighton. He also contributed a short story to that anthology. He has now published almost 100 books in a variety of areas.
He has worked in book publishing for many years, which he left to open the Murder One bookshop[1], the UK's first specialist crime and mystery bookstore. He contributes to a variety of newspapers and magazines, and was for eight years the crime columnist for Time Out and, presently, since 2000, the crime reviewer for The Guardian. He is also the literary director of London's Crime Scene Festival and a consultant for the International Mystery Film Festival, Noir in Fest, held annually in Courmayeur, Italy. He is one the leading editors in the crime and mystery and erotica field, in which he has published many major anthologies.
His novels include "It's You That I Want To Kiss", "Because She Thought She Loved Me", "The State Of Montana", "On Tenderness Express", "Kiss me Sadly" and "Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer". His short story collections are "Life in the World of Women", "Fools for Lust" and the collaborative "American Casanova". He is a regular broadcaster on British TV and radio and was recently voted the 4th Sexiest Writer of 2,007 on a poll on the crimespace website.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 29, 2015
As a long time fan of the Ripper mythology I was keen to get my hands on this one, and wasn't disappointed. A huge range of tales on the Ripper and his/her impact on society. Naturally in a book of so many stories, there were a few that didn't grab me, but many many more that did.
First of I want to give a shout out to two of my friends in the Australian horror field who made the cut. Stephen Dedman and Brett McBean - well done chaps. Stephen's tale, 'Oh Have You Seen the Devil' reflects on the theme of Liz Stride's de facto, Michael Kidney, being her actual killer on the night of the double event, a factor the Ripper himself makes clear to Kidney he is well aware of. Brett's story, 'A Child of the Darkness', is wonderfully inventive in presenting perhaps the one person who benefits from the Ripper's bloody deeds.
Several other tales I really enjoyed include Josh Reynolds' 'A Mote of Black Memory', where two spiritualists conjure up old Jack only to find that his spirit is ingrained in the very brickwork of the East End. Terry Davis and Patrick Jones' 'Ripper Familias' has JtR released from Bedlam and bundled onto the Titanic on its maiden (and only) voyage. Martin Gately's 'The Robuck Cabal' posits Dr Rees Llewellyn as the Ripper fingering an innocent for the crimes 20 years hence and getting a great sexual charge when his colleagues fall for the ruse and murder the unfortunate dupe and all of his family. Finally, Nicky Peacock's 'Madame X' is one of the more bizarre and sexually charged tales in the collection. Certainly one of the most sexually explicit and beautifully crafted. Invoking a bit of magical realism into the mythology.
Overall there are lots of great stories in this collection, and I am sure any keen student of Ripperology and quality horror literature will enjoy it immensely, perhaps almost as much as Saucy Jacky enjoyed carving up his poor victims.
First of I want to give a shout out to two of my friends in the Australian horror field who made the cut. Stephen Dedman and Brett McBean - well done chaps. Stephen's tale, 'Oh Have You Seen the Devil' reflects on the theme of Liz Stride's de facto, Michael Kidney, being her actual killer on the night of the double event, a factor the Ripper himself makes clear to Kidney he is well aware of. Brett's story, 'A Child of the Darkness', is wonderfully inventive in presenting perhaps the one person who benefits from the Ripper's bloody deeds.
Several other tales I really enjoyed include Josh Reynolds' 'A Mote of Black Memory', where two spiritualists conjure up old Jack only to find that his spirit is ingrained in the very brickwork of the East End. Terry Davis and Patrick Jones' 'Ripper Familias' has JtR released from Bedlam and bundled onto the Titanic on its maiden (and only) voyage. Martin Gately's 'The Robuck Cabal' posits Dr Rees Llewellyn as the Ripper fingering an innocent for the crimes 20 years hence and getting a great sexual charge when his colleagues fall for the ruse and murder the unfortunate dupe and all of his family. Finally, Nicky Peacock's 'Madame X' is one of the more bizarre and sexually charged tales in the collection. Certainly one of the most sexually explicit and beautifully crafted. Invoking a bit of magical realism into the mythology.
Overall there are lots of great stories in this collection, and I am sure any keen student of Ripperology and quality horror literature will enjoy it immensely, perhaps almost as much as Saucy Jacky enjoyed carving up his poor victims.
December 4, 2018
Everyone has their favorite Jack the Ripper theory or suspect. The odds are, we will NEVER know definitively who was responsible. That said, This book is full of fictional stories based on various old and new theories as well as just plain imagination. It will get us no closer to solving the crimes, but it does give us enjoyable reads of various possibilities.
Some of my favorites from the book were: "His Last Victim" by KG Anderson, "It's All in the Genes" by Cara Cooper, "Bluebeard's Wife" by Catherine Lundoff and "Autumn of Terror" by CL Raven.
Some of my favorites from the book were: "His Last Victim" by KG Anderson, "It's All in the Genes" by Cara Cooper, "Bluebeard's Wife" by Catherine Lundoff and "Autumn of Terror" by CL Raven.
April 25, 2020
Round up to 3.5 stars. Most of these stories were really good. The setting just got old after a while. But I think if you spread the stories out it would be better.
May 5, 2018
The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Stories really is mammoth. With nearly forty stories about the mysterious serial killer, this book had it's ups and downs. Some stories were interesting and but frustratingly short, which is probably why I hardly ever read short story collections. Some stories were down right boring, and I have to admit, I skipped a few of them after only a few sentences. Notable mentions include Bertie by Barbara Nadel, which immerses you in the 1800's and The Ripper Legacy by John Moralee, which is a modern retelling of the fear and trepidation the killer inspired. Unfortunately, the bad stories outweighed the good, making this a below average read.
August 31, 2017
The individual stories were simply too short and there wasn't anything for me to really sink my teeth into. I enjoyed the first few and then lost interest after that.
I found it very confusing that the same characters were mentioned in numerous stories but in different contexts. I found this very confusing and ultimately off-putting.
I found it very confusing that the same characters were mentioned in numerous stories but in different contexts. I found this very confusing and ultimately off-putting.
April 23, 2019
An interesting mix of stories involving Jack the Ripper with some modern ones thrown in. Some are better than others, but that is partly due to personal tastes. I recommend for anyone wishing to read short stories with different takes on the Ripper and the victims.
January 1, 2020
You know from the very beginning that this collection is going to be quite twisted. I mean, it’s a collection of 40 stories about Jack the Ripper. That is never going to be a nice collection. But it was an incredibly interesting one. One that I’m incredibly glad I read and found very difficult to put down.
I’m glad that I read The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper before reading this. It made a few things make a little more sense as I read these short stories. Plus, there were SO many different takes on the events of 1888. Or adaptations to modern day society. It filled my head with a lot of wonderful information.
After reading this, I know even more about Jack the Ripper. I’m not actually sure that this is such a good thing. Because wow. There’s a reason why he’s (or maybe she’s) such a notorious killer. There are just so many things that are known and not known…
For individual reviews, head to: https://earthandskye.org/the-mammoth-...
I’m glad that I read The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper before reading this. It made a few things make a little more sense as I read these short stories. Plus, there were SO many different takes on the events of 1888. Or adaptations to modern day society. It filled my head with a lot of wonderful information.
After reading this, I know even more about Jack the Ripper. I’m not actually sure that this is such a good thing. Because wow. There’s a reason why he’s (or maybe she’s) such a notorious killer. There are just so many things that are known and not known…
For individual reviews, head to: https://earthandskye.org/the-mammoth-...
December 1, 2016
Like most story collections, this is a mixed bag. I love the subject matter and some of the stories are super great. Others less so. But over-all, it's a great collection. I look forward to reading another collection of Jack the Ripper stories soon because I am a twisted individual.
July 10, 2016
As the title says, the book is mammoth. Forty stories about Jack the Ripper. Some of them vaguely supernatural, and all downright creepy.
Don't read alone in the dark.
Don't read alone in the dark.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews