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Prince Eddy: The King Britain Never Had
Prince Albert Victor, King Edward Vll's (r. 1901–10) first son and heir to the throne, popularly known as Eddy, has virtually been airbrushed out of history. Eddy was as popular and charismatic a figure in his own time as Princess Diana a century later. As in her case, his sudden death in 1892 resulted in public demonstrations of grief on a scale rarely seen at the time, and it was even rumored (as in the case of Diana) that he was murdered to save him besmirching the monarchy. Had he lived, he would have been crowned king in 1911, ushering in a profoundly different style of monarchy from that of his younger brother, who ultimately succeeded as the stodgy George V. Eddy's life was virtually ignored by historians until the 1970s, when myths began to accumulate and his character somehow grew horns and a tail. As a result, he is remembered today primarily as a suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888 and for his alleged involvement in the Cleveland Street homosexual scandal of 1889. But history has found Eddy guilty of crimes he did not commit. Now, for the first time, using modern forensic evidence combined with Eddy's previously unseen records, personal correspondence, and photographs, Andrew Cook proves his innocence. Prince Eddy reveals the truth about a key royal figure, a man who would have made a fine king, and changed the face of the British monarchy.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 31, 2024
2.5
I found this very frustrating and quite upsetting: at the end of the book I was no wiser as to the whys and wherefores of Prince Albert Victor aka Eddy. He remains an enigma and destined it seems to remain so.
The author, described by Andrew Roberts as “a brilliant investigative historian”, apparently worked for many years as a foreign affairs and defence specialist. He begins his story – Eddy’s that is – when the Prince was 25, in 1889, with the breaking of a scandal, the Victorians were rather good at them. The scandal centred around 19 Cleveland Street, London W1, a male brothel, staffed largely it seems by young Post Office delivery boys and patronised by the great and good of society. The Government was anxious to keep a lid on it – some things never change! One of the brothel’s regular visitors was a titled gent, attached to the household of the then Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. The Establishment was keen to use every trick in the book to keep the said gent out of a court room. But nothing it seems was going to save Podge, as he was known to his friends. At this point, Podge’s unscrupulous lawyer seems to have begun whispering that his client was shielding someone very important – No 3 in the Royal Family, hush, hush, EDDY! Podge escaped to France.
Andrew Cross is at pains to state that there is no evidence that the Prince had ever even heard of the brothel, much less visited it. Nor is there any evidence that he had homosexual inclinations. But that is the problem – little seems to be known about HRH and what there is seems to be under lock and key somewhere within the royal archives, I assume. So, it’s easy to pin outrage after outrage on this young man who’s dead and can’t defend himself.
The little I learned of him from the book: he was well liked, attractive, very fashion conscious and interested in his appearance, he hated beards, had an eye for a pretty girl, was very close to his younger, rather bullying brother, the future George V. After all, they shared a mistress, as you do! He was often tired and lethargic, (as you might be if you were frequenting brothels, entertaining mistresses and even being Jack the Ripper in your spare time). He was a very private person, who no one knew much about, not very bright academically perhaps but a real Mr Nice Guy who everyone seemed to like, got terribly upset when he died aged 28 and then forgot until decades later when they began to dish the dirt on him...
I found this very frustrating and quite upsetting: at the end of the book I was no wiser as to the whys and wherefores of Prince Albert Victor aka Eddy. He remains an enigma and destined it seems to remain so.
The author, described by Andrew Roberts as “a brilliant investigative historian”, apparently worked for many years as a foreign affairs and defence specialist. He begins his story – Eddy’s that is – when the Prince was 25, in 1889, with the breaking of a scandal, the Victorians were rather good at them. The scandal centred around 19 Cleveland Street, London W1, a male brothel, staffed largely it seems by young Post Office delivery boys and patronised by the great and good of society. The Government was anxious to keep a lid on it – some things never change! One of the brothel’s regular visitors was a titled gent, attached to the household of the then Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. The Establishment was keen to use every trick in the book to keep the said gent out of a court room. But nothing it seems was going to save Podge, as he was known to his friends. At this point, Podge’s unscrupulous lawyer seems to have begun whispering that his client was shielding someone very important – No 3 in the Royal Family, hush, hush, EDDY! Podge escaped to France.
Andrew Cross is at pains to state that there is no evidence that the Prince had ever even heard of the brothel, much less visited it. Nor is there any evidence that he had homosexual inclinations. But that is the problem – little seems to be known about HRH and what there is seems to be under lock and key somewhere within the royal archives, I assume. So, it’s easy to pin outrage after outrage on this young man who’s dead and can’t defend himself.
The little I learned of him from the book: he was well liked, attractive, very fashion conscious and interested in his appearance, he hated beards, had an eye for a pretty girl, was very close to his younger, rather bullying brother, the future George V. After all, they shared a mistress, as you do! He was often tired and lethargic, (as you might be if you were frequenting brothels, entertaining mistresses and even being Jack the Ripper in your spare time). He was a very private person, who no one knew much about, not very bright academically perhaps but a real Mr Nice Guy who everyone seemed to like, got terribly upset when he died aged 28 and then forgot until decades later when they began to dish the dirt on him...
January 4, 2012
i have read some interesting criticisms of this book, and i have to say that after following eddy around for at least twenty years or thereabouts, this work is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of at least attempting to contextualize his life in a way that offers more than just the lurid sort of scandal-mongering that have made poor eddy a bit infamous.
so okay it's not perfect. but for an otherwise somewhat obscure royal whose life was mostly "vanished" in that curious way of blotting out things rather left unremembered, cook manages to pastiche eddy's short life back together through what little has survived. there are omissions, certainly, and i almost would have rather cook confronted all the rumors more head-on (his dismissal may seem to some like he's got something to fear or hide, perhaps? i don't know), but i found this a very satisfying read: well documented, and with sufficient new material to make it well worth my time.
and frankly it's nice to see something written about eddy that isn't overly obsessed with all the scandals ans rumors that have been (mostly) posthumously applied.
so okay it's not perfect. but for an otherwise somewhat obscure royal whose life was mostly "vanished" in that curious way of blotting out things rather left unremembered, cook manages to pastiche eddy's short life back together through what little has survived. there are omissions, certainly, and i almost would have rather cook confronted all the rumors more head-on (his dismissal may seem to some like he's got something to fear or hide, perhaps? i don't know), but i found this a very satisfying read: well documented, and with sufficient new material to make it well worth my time.
and frankly it's nice to see something written about eddy that isn't overly obsessed with all the scandals ans rumors that have been (mostly) posthumously applied.
August 18, 2012
It's nice to read a sympathetic biographer. I liked this book and hadn't really known anything except the Jack the Ripper rumors. It's a good read for someone who is interested in the period and the European royality of that time, but who isn't necessarily an historical expert.
My only criticism is that I felt the whole description of the Cleveland Street scandal was confusing, but hey that might have been me and not the author. I generally read while sipping wine.
My only criticism is that I felt the whole description of the Cleveland Street scandal was confusing, but hey that might have been me and not the author. I generally read while sipping wine.
December 18, 2017
I found this book a difficult read for several reasons. I admire the intention of Andrew Cook, to "clear" Prince Albert Victor's name, but I wish he could have done it with better style. I found his writing often dull and his presentation of facts sometimes confusing. However, he does convincingly refute the rumours that have hung like a miasma around the long-dead prince; he was not Jack the Ripper nor, it seems, a member of the gay underworld.
Albert Victor - known as Eddy - was the eldest son of the then Prince of Wales, the colourful, mistress-loving Prince Edward, later King Edward VII. Eddy was, therefore, heir presumptive to the British throne and a subject of some interest and glamour in his day. But he lived such an ordinary Royal life! Navy training, indifferent schooling by the uninspiring Mr Dalton, membership of the Hussars and world-touring. The latter is the only really interesting feature of this life and, unfortunately, reveals Eddy to have been an enthusiastic hunter! However, Cook does quote from Eddy's letters, which show him to have been thoughtful and kind. Many people did find him lazy, a "dawdler", lacking drive, but still thought him a lovable person. Obviously, it would have taken more than his personality for Eddy to stamp himself on the public memory, but he died too soon for maturity and kingship to show what he might have been made of.
The worst section of the book deals with the Cleveland Street scandal and the possibility that Eddy was somehow involved. I felt as if I was in a maze reading that chapter! Anyone really interested in it would be better off reading a work devoted to this subject - or even Wikipedia! As for Jack the Ripper, that theory has long been debunked by sources showing exactly where Eddy was when the murders were committed.
The most interesting chapter in the book, for me, was the final Appendix, containing an analysis of Eddy's handwriting as shown in letters written over the course of his short life. Whether you believe in graphology or not, this analysis seems to reveal a pleasant personality, maturing satisfactorily.
All in all, a bit of a disappointing read, but a valiant attempt to restore a reputation.
Albert Victor - known as Eddy - was the eldest son of the then Prince of Wales, the colourful, mistress-loving Prince Edward, later King Edward VII. Eddy was, therefore, heir presumptive to the British throne and a subject of some interest and glamour in his day. But he lived such an ordinary Royal life! Navy training, indifferent schooling by the uninspiring Mr Dalton, membership of the Hussars and world-touring. The latter is the only really interesting feature of this life and, unfortunately, reveals Eddy to have been an enthusiastic hunter! However, Cook does quote from Eddy's letters, which show him to have been thoughtful and kind. Many people did find him lazy, a "dawdler", lacking drive, but still thought him a lovable person. Obviously, it would have taken more than his personality for Eddy to stamp himself on the public memory, but he died too soon for maturity and kingship to show what he might have been made of.
The worst section of the book deals with the Cleveland Street scandal and the possibility that Eddy was somehow involved. I felt as if I was in a maze reading that chapter! Anyone really interested in it would be better off reading a work devoted to this subject - or even Wikipedia! As for Jack the Ripper, that theory has long been debunked by sources showing exactly where Eddy was when the murders were committed.
The most interesting chapter in the book, for me, was the final Appendix, containing an analysis of Eddy's handwriting as shown in letters written over the course of his short life. Whether you believe in graphology or not, this analysis seems to reveal a pleasant personality, maturing satisfactorily.
All in all, a bit of a disappointing read, but a valiant attempt to restore a reputation.
September 14, 2013
"I wondered why I even finished this one; I certainly skimmed quite a bit of the middle (like so many books, it had a promising start). Cook set out to refute other historians' theories that Prince Eddy was Jack the Ripper (or knew him) and/or that Prince Eddy was gay and that Prince Eddy went mad and was locked up until the 1930s, his brother becoming King George V. He succeeded (falteringly, flimsily) in that (although believing all of these stories about Prince Eddy to be true is far more interesting and fun) but the book was just kind of dull. Every once in a while, a tetch of bitchiness would shine through, as when Cook snidely commented on Patricia Cornwell's possession of two letters (supposedly) from Prince Eddy. That was the main issue I had with the book -- is it a respectable scholarly tome or a juicy bitchy tell-all? Sound and fury in the end, that's all."
May 5, 2024
[31 Dec 2020] This is a good, competently written biography of a little known and much maligned member of the Royal family. If he had not died at an early age, the Queen's grandfather would not have become King and history would have taken a very different path. It is written in a traditional chronological format and it is engaging, easy read. There are a couple of factual mistakes, such as on p41, when he mentions her 'fourth daughter' - she only had three and the repeated and frankly unforgivable error of describing Victoria as 'Queen of England' - She was, of course, the Queen of Great Britain & Ireland. Although many English people believe England and Britain are synonymous they are not and this error is alienating and offensive to non-English Britons, whose Queen was Victoria!
Then there is the format - the text is squashed into the middle of each page with wide margins - so it distorts the written word. For instance, Prince of Wales often becomes Prince ofWales. Really annoying to look at and distracting to read. Also a shame were the small, poor quality black & white photographs reproduced not on glossy paper, but within the text. It would have been useful to have included a small family tree.
His research appears to be meticulous and illuminating and tells you all you need to know. In particular he dispels the myths (ridiculous in hindsight) that the Prince was a homosexual who engaged in illicit sex with under-age boys in a male brothel - the infamous Cleveland Street scandal. There is no judgement here and much context. He handles this with diligence and forensic detail, while tracing its origins and identifying the culprits. He spends less time on the very weird myth that the Prince was 'Jack the Ripper' - obviously stupid even to the conspiracy theorists. The other idea - unfairly perpetuated is that he was 'retarded' or 'dull' or learning disabled in some way, which appears to ignore his limited experience and lack of formal eduction.
It is interesting and informative account of a lesser known member of the Royal family, which considering there is limited archival material left about him is a feat of authorship and it does history a service in once and for all rejecting the absurd lies that were told about him. I really enjoyed it.
Then there is the format - the text is squashed into the middle of each page with wide margins - so it distorts the written word. For instance, Prince of Wales often becomes Prince ofWales. Really annoying to look at and distracting to read. Also a shame were the small, poor quality black & white photographs reproduced not on glossy paper, but within the text. It would have been useful to have included a small family tree.
His research appears to be meticulous and illuminating and tells you all you need to know. In particular he dispels the myths (ridiculous in hindsight) that the Prince was a homosexual who engaged in illicit sex with under-age boys in a male brothel - the infamous Cleveland Street scandal. There is no judgement here and much context. He handles this with diligence and forensic detail, while tracing its origins and identifying the culprits. He spends less time on the very weird myth that the Prince was 'Jack the Ripper' - obviously stupid even to the conspiracy theorists. The other idea - unfairly perpetuated is that he was 'retarded' or 'dull' or learning disabled in some way, which appears to ignore his limited experience and lack of formal eduction.
It is interesting and informative account of a lesser known member of the Royal family, which considering there is limited archival material left about him is a feat of authorship and it does history a service in once and for all rejecting the absurd lies that were told about him. I really enjoyed it.
September 3, 2021
Prince Edward was the oldest son of Edward, The Prince of Wales and would eventually become King Edward VII. and was therefore the heir to the British throne. Prince Eddy died before his father ascended to the crown. His your brother, George, then became heir to the throne.
Prince Eddy is really a footnote in history. Even though he lived till he was 28, he never lived long enough to be really other than a footnote. He never even became the Prince of Wales. In addition he was really quite unremarble in every sense other than being a Royal. Interest in him has been that some people have speculated that he was really Jack the Ripper and also he was supposedly involved in the Cleveland Street sex scandal.
Other than some insight into what it was like to be in Queen Victoria's immediate family, which sounded pretty boring, there is really not much of true interest here. The author spends quite a bit of time trying to disprove the Jack the Ripper and Cleveland Street Sex Scandal. By the way, the Cleveland Street Sex Scandal was where a number of very prominent people in the aristocracy were found to be frequenting a gay brothel located on Cleveland Street. The brothel was made up of young boys who were working a messengers for the Post Office.
In addition to being a basically uninteresting subject, the writing is not very good. It is very disjointed and I found it hard to follow. There was a great deal spent regarding other people than Prince Eddy also. At times is seemed to be more a biography of his father than anything else. The author also brings a lot of extraneous material. There were several pages devoted to the murder case of Hawley Crippen which occured in the 1920's many years after Prince Eddy died.
I really cannot recommend this book.
Prince Eddy is really a footnote in history. Even though he lived till he was 28, he never lived long enough to be really other than a footnote. He never even became the Prince of Wales. In addition he was really quite unremarble in every sense other than being a Royal. Interest in him has been that some people have speculated that he was really Jack the Ripper and also he was supposedly involved in the Cleveland Street sex scandal.
Other than some insight into what it was like to be in Queen Victoria's immediate family, which sounded pretty boring, there is really not much of true interest here. The author spends quite a bit of time trying to disprove the Jack the Ripper and Cleveland Street Sex Scandal. By the way, the Cleveland Street Sex Scandal was where a number of very prominent people in the aristocracy were found to be frequenting a gay brothel located on Cleveland Street. The brothel was made up of young boys who were working a messengers for the Post Office.
In addition to being a basically uninteresting subject, the writing is not very good. It is very disjointed and I found it hard to follow. There was a great deal spent regarding other people than Prince Eddy also. At times is seemed to be more a biography of his father than anything else. The author also brings a lot of extraneous material. There were several pages devoted to the murder case of Hawley Crippen which occured in the 1920's many years after Prince Eddy died.
I really cannot recommend this book.
February 6, 2021
This is an odd one. It's the biography of someone pretty much forgotten by history for 70 or so years, until - as the description says - they grew horns and a tail in the 1970s and became the focus of endless conspiracy theories.
I enjoyed the book - mostly. But the problem is, Prince Eddy/Prince Albert Victor/PAV is really not a very interesting person. Had he been the son of anyone else I really doubt that anyone would ever think him worth more than a paragraph or a footnote, let alone a whole book.
The research that has gone into this book is impeccable, well referenced and honestly interpreted. But there's very little of substance there. Even when PAV is on a tour of India the book gives little more than a laundry list of places visited and animals killed (very big on hunting was PAV). It seems that the Prince was little more than a very boring, upper class, non-intellectual, mostly bored bloke.
It is nice that his reputation is mostly cleared - certainly of the worst accusations that have been set against him - but it really leaves very little there of substance. He may, like his father, have come into his own had he made it to the throne, but somehow I doubt it. He just wasn't very interesting.
I enjoyed the book - mostly. But the problem is, Prince Eddy/Prince Albert Victor/PAV is really not a very interesting person. Had he been the son of anyone else I really doubt that anyone would ever think him worth more than a paragraph or a footnote, let alone a whole book.
The research that has gone into this book is impeccable, well referenced and honestly interpreted. But there's very little of substance there. Even when PAV is on a tour of India the book gives little more than a laundry list of places visited and animals killed (very big on hunting was PAV). It seems that the Prince was little more than a very boring, upper class, non-intellectual, mostly bored bloke.
It is nice that his reputation is mostly cleared - certainly of the worst accusations that have been set against him - but it really leaves very little there of substance. He may, like his father, have come into his own had he made it to the throne, but somehow I doubt it. He just wasn't very interesting.
March 15, 2021
Mildly Interesting
This book could have been a lot shorter. I got lost in the Cleveland Street homosexual scandal intricacies with which the book started and then got back to later. Since the author's point was that Eddie could not have been involved, why go on and on about it. I could not keep track of the various legal maneuvering or the players...nor did I care. The author also disclaims Patricia Cornwell's theory that Eddy was Jack the Ripper with not much more than a snotty dismissal. I can't say that I learned very much about Prince Eddy's personality. Was he deaf or not? Was he stupid or not? Was he or was he not sexually sophisticated? If he was so lazy, why did Cook think he would have made a great king? The family tidbits were illuminating. That's about it.
This book could have been a lot shorter. I got lost in the Cleveland Street homosexual scandal intricacies with which the book started and then got back to later. Since the author's point was that Eddie could not have been involved, why go on and on about it. I could not keep track of the various legal maneuvering or the players...nor did I care. The author also disclaims Patricia Cornwell's theory that Eddy was Jack the Ripper with not much more than a snotty dismissal. I can't say that I learned very much about Prince Eddy's personality. Was he deaf or not? Was he stupid or not? Was he or was he not sexually sophisticated? If he was so lazy, why did Cook think he would have made a great king? The family tidbits were illuminating. That's about it.
August 12, 2020
DNF. I wanted to like it, as it was recommended by an author I love as part of her research material; but it was my least-favorite kind of biography. WAY too many inconsequential details that bogged down the narrative; like the author couldn’t decide what was important, so just included everything.
July 22, 2021
What a dishonorable cheat to have a reader pulled in based on false claims. Grant you the topic is “mentioned “ but far from anything substantial. It appeared writer was aiming for so many numbers of words he lost track of the rest plot. Wouldn’t recall wasting time on this book!
July 1, 2021
Nice to read a book about HRH Prince Eddie
This book has more detail about HRH then I have previously read. I would recommend to others if they are not looking for the Ripper.
This book has more detail about HRH then I have previously read. I would recommend to others if they are not looking for the Ripper.
Read
September 4, 2021Crammed with information; but no spark
October 29, 2021
Hopefully there won't be a final examination assigned to me with all those names listed were mentioned dozens of time.
August 19, 2022
Excellent book on the life of a forgotten prince who died before he could become king.
February 13, 2023
Well written
I had no knowledge of Prince Eddy. Like it says, he was lost in time. Well researched. Enjoy the book
I had no knowledge of Prince Eddy. Like it says, he was lost in time. Well researched. Enjoy the book
March 13, 2017
A very interesting book and the first to draw upon the personal written letters and effects by Prince Eddy himself, Andrew Cook looks into some the myths surrounding the Prince and dispels these with evidence. Once thought to be involved in homosexual prostitution or later thought to be Jack the Ripper, this are dispelled thanks to new evidence from his own hand and other family members, and had he lived would he have been the greatest King Britain had that is something we will never know, but for now as my grandmother always said never judge a book by its cover so I hope you will enjoy for yourself.
June 5, 2011
The two most fascinating things about this otherwise forgettable prince were the rumors about him being Jack the Ripper and the Cleveland Street scandal. Granted, the Ripper story is a bit of a stretch and can be relatively easily disproved by the dates Eddy was out of town, but the author neglected to even cover the basic storyline, dismissing it out of hand.
The Cleveland Street scandal is a bit more problematic. There's no direct evidence, but Eddy did keep company with Stevens, Wilde and others. It's a more likely scenario. However, the author acts incredibly uncomfortable with the subject in general and positively cringes at the specifics. He barely mentions Stevens. His only mention of Bosie calls him a happily married man.
Overall, I got the impression that the author would have rather been writing about one of the other primaries in the book. Chapters about Eddy include large amounts of information on George, Bertie, and Alix, so much so that the reader sometimes forgets who is being profiled.
The Cleveland Street scandal is a bit more problematic. There's no direct evidence, but Eddy did keep company with Stevens, Wilde and others. It's a more likely scenario. However, the author acts incredibly uncomfortable with the subject in general and positively cringes at the specifics. He barely mentions Stevens. His only mention of Bosie calls him a happily married man.
Overall, I got the impression that the author would have rather been writing about one of the other primaries in the book. Chapters about Eddy include large amounts of information on George, Bertie, and Alix, so much so that the reader sometimes forgets who is being profiled.
April 15, 2016
Excellent Bio of the Duke of Clarence
Wonderful bio of Prince Albert Victor, known in his family as Eddy. This is the young man about whom it was bandied about for decades was at least a contender for the title of Jack the Ripper. The book provides excerpts of letters written by various people who knew him. He was often described as lazy and indolent, but his parents, Edward VII and his queen consort, Alexandra, were more interested is their social whirl than anything else. And as a grandson of the Widow of Windsor, he was going to fail from the start by comparison with his grandfather, Albert. However, he is presented as having a winning personality that would have served him well as king. And he could have learned as his father did. By obtaining state papers on the sly. One wonders where the British monarchy would be if he had not died at twenty-eight.
Highly recommended.
Wonderful bio of Prince Albert Victor, known in his family as Eddy. This is the young man about whom it was bandied about for decades was at least a contender for the title of Jack the Ripper. The book provides excerpts of letters written by various people who knew him. He was often described as lazy and indolent, but his parents, Edward VII and his queen consort, Alexandra, were more interested is their social whirl than anything else. And as a grandson of the Widow of Windsor, he was going to fail from the start by comparison with his grandfather, Albert. However, he is presented as having a winning personality that would have served him well as king. And he could have learned as his father did. By obtaining state papers on the sly. One wonders where the British monarchy would be if he had not died at twenty-eight.
Highly recommended.
February 10, 2014
For the most part, a well written bio, interspersed with sardonic humor, on a young man who's been drifting through historical mists and shadows for generations.
I found myself a bit overwhelmed with the seemingly endless personages involved in the Cleveland Street Scandal, and am still confused as to whether Eddy did indeed have an STD, as the author indicates he did, but doesn't provide evidence of much more than symptoms and convoluted communications.
Prior to reading this bio, Albert Victor seemed a dark, creepy looking unknown buried deep in layers of rumors and lost behind his grandmother, father and brother. Thanks to Andrew Cook, the 'creep' is gone from Eddy's soulful eyes and I'm left liking him very much and wishing he'd had more time to simply 'become'.
I found myself a bit overwhelmed with the seemingly endless personages involved in the Cleveland Street Scandal, and am still confused as to whether Eddy did indeed have an STD, as the author indicates he did, but doesn't provide evidence of much more than symptoms and convoluted communications.
Prior to reading this bio, Albert Victor seemed a dark, creepy looking unknown buried deep in layers of rumors and lost behind his grandmother, father and brother. Thanks to Andrew Cook, the 'creep' is gone from Eddy's soulful eyes and I'm left liking him very much and wishing he'd had more time to simply 'become'.
May 17, 2013
Ultimately, a book about a deeply boring person is going to be - well, deeply boring. I'm sure Mr Cook is right, and that Albert Victor was neither The Ripper nor an habitue of male brothels, and it is important that the truth is published. But it doesn't make for a thrilling read.
January 13, 2016
I useded to read a non fiction book for my bookclub and this is the one I choose. It is a story that while interesting did not make a good book. It should have been in a book with other stories to help fill the book out.
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