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The Devil's Work: Australia's Jack the Ripper and the serial murders that shocked the world.
He was a murderer, swindler, bigamist and suspect in the Jack the Ripper killings.
Frederick Deeming was also the most hated man in the world.
Claiming to be haunted by the ghost of his dead mother, Deeming had spent years roaming the planet under various aliases, preying on the innocent, the gullible and the desperate.
But the discovery by Australian police in 1892 of the body of one of his wives in a shallow concrete grave triggered one of the greatest manhunts in history and exposed a further series of grisly murders – those of his first wife and four children - that stunned the Victorian era.
The Devil’s Work is a gothic journey into the twisted mind of a serial killer, set in the dying years of the 19th century when science and religion had collided and some of the world’s most powerful and influential people believed in spirits and an afterlife.
It reveals Deeming’s crime spree across three continents, raising fresh questions about his role in the Jack the Ripper killings and culminating in his sensational trial where he was defended by a future Australian Prime Minister who believed he could also speak to the dead.
Born bad or simply mad? It’s time to meet Frederick Deeming, the man known and reviled throughout the United States, England and Australia as the Criminal of the Century.
Frederick Deeming was also the most hated man in the world.
Claiming to be haunted by the ghost of his dead mother, Deeming had spent years roaming the planet under various aliases, preying on the innocent, the gullible and the desperate.
But the discovery by Australian police in 1892 of the body of one of his wives in a shallow concrete grave triggered one of the greatest manhunts in history and exposed a further series of grisly murders – those of his first wife and four children - that stunned the Victorian era.
The Devil’s Work is a gothic journey into the twisted mind of a serial killer, set in the dying years of the 19th century when science and religion had collided and some of the world’s most powerful and influential people believed in spirits and an afterlife.
It reveals Deeming’s crime spree across three continents, raising fresh questions about his role in the Jack the Ripper killings and culminating in his sensational trial where he was defended by a future Australian Prime Minister who believed he could also speak to the dead.
Born bad or simply mad? It’s time to meet Frederick Deeming, the man known and reviled throughout the United States, England and Australia as the Criminal of the Century.
355 pages, Paperback
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 8, 2021
A while ago another much admired true crime writer mentioned the name Frederick Deeming to me, and kindly sent me a short synopsis about the man's background, and the theory that he could be the notorious Jack the Ripper. Prior to that time I confess to never having heard of him, or the crimes that were definitely committed by him, so when THE DEVIL'S WORK appeared on my horizons I was mightily intrigued.
Styled as what I'm calling narrative true crime (facts intertwined with story telling), Garry Linnell has drawn out a story of the man, his movements, and his crimes, including elements that are speculative - motivations / thoughts / observations by third parties, etc. All of which gives the story depth, and a place in the times, creating a voice for those not normally heard from - long-dead victims, family, associates and passers by.
Along the way we learn just how mobile, inventive and horrible Frederick Deeming was. We learn about his family background, and it teases out the age old argument of born mad or bad. Obviously there's mental illness in Deeming's background (his father was a profoundly troubled man), but it's hard to believe that Deeming was mad - the level of ruthlessness, the planning, the range of his crimes just didn't seem to sit well with the idea that they weren't planned, calculated, and self-serving to the point of self-obsession. Certainly this reader came away from the story convinced he was monstrous, a human being with absolutely no redeeming features at all.
THE DEVIL'S WORK is a wide ranging undertaking though, and it goes not just to Deeming's life, travels and crimes, but the fascination that there was in the 1800s with the supernatural, ghosts and the definition of insanity (in later life Deeming vowed his dead mother was visiting him nightly / urging him to commit crimes), hence some of the viewpoints explored. This does mean that the book meanders down quite a few supplementary paths, taking the reader into the lives of people other than Deeming, those that met him, those that observed him closely, and then into the trial in Australia that ultimately saw him sentenced to death for murder.
By that stage Deeming had been accused, but never tried of the murder, of his first wife and four children in the United Kingdom (discovered buried in concrete in their house); had been believed involved in some very suspect goings on in South Africa as well as all over Australia; before killing his second wife, burying her body in yet another shallow concrete grave in their Australian house. He'd been trying to convince a third young woman to marry him at the time of his arrest (luckily she'd been unconvinced by his advances and hadn't followed him to the Western Australian goldfields where presumably a concrete hearth awaited her as well). Overall there is a litany of deceitful dealings, thefts, dodgy financial undertakings and a myriad of other crimes following him around, committed under a plethora of aliases he was prone to using.
The wider question of whether or not he could have been Jack the Ripper, is mostly speculative it seems, based on the understanding that he was probably in the UK at the time of the killings, gone at the time that they ended and believed perfectly capable of those sorts of vicious killings. I'm not sure that THE DEVIL'S WORK really addressed this theory all that comprehensively but, on the question of whether or not he was syphilitic and nasty enough to kill women in the way the Ripper's victims were - well there's more than enough there to encourage the rumours, if not actual evidence to support.
Either way, THE DEVIL'S WORK is an interesting undertaking. It's always tricky to come to true crime stories set so long ago as those involved are obviously long gone, and records weren't that comprehensive or easily accessed - especially given the considerable distances over which Deeming moved. The style of this as a narrative, a yarn being woven, worked though, with only a few minor boggy bits overall making for an engaging, rolling along tale. Well worth reading to understand just what a monster Frederick Deeming was, be he Jack the Ripper or not, and what he got away with before finally being bought to justice.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
Styled as what I'm calling narrative true crime (facts intertwined with story telling), Garry Linnell has drawn out a story of the man, his movements, and his crimes, including elements that are speculative - motivations / thoughts / observations by third parties, etc. All of which gives the story depth, and a place in the times, creating a voice for those not normally heard from - long-dead victims, family, associates and passers by.
Along the way we learn just how mobile, inventive and horrible Frederick Deeming was. We learn about his family background, and it teases out the age old argument of born mad or bad. Obviously there's mental illness in Deeming's background (his father was a profoundly troubled man), but it's hard to believe that Deeming was mad - the level of ruthlessness, the planning, the range of his crimes just didn't seem to sit well with the idea that they weren't planned, calculated, and self-serving to the point of self-obsession. Certainly this reader came away from the story convinced he was monstrous, a human being with absolutely no redeeming features at all.
THE DEVIL'S WORK is a wide ranging undertaking though, and it goes not just to Deeming's life, travels and crimes, but the fascination that there was in the 1800s with the supernatural, ghosts and the definition of insanity (in later life Deeming vowed his dead mother was visiting him nightly / urging him to commit crimes), hence some of the viewpoints explored. This does mean that the book meanders down quite a few supplementary paths, taking the reader into the lives of people other than Deeming, those that met him, those that observed him closely, and then into the trial in Australia that ultimately saw him sentenced to death for murder.
By that stage Deeming had been accused, but never tried of the murder, of his first wife and four children in the United Kingdom (discovered buried in concrete in their house); had been believed involved in some very suspect goings on in South Africa as well as all over Australia; before killing his second wife, burying her body in yet another shallow concrete grave in their Australian house. He'd been trying to convince a third young woman to marry him at the time of his arrest (luckily she'd been unconvinced by his advances and hadn't followed him to the Western Australian goldfields where presumably a concrete hearth awaited her as well). Overall there is a litany of deceitful dealings, thefts, dodgy financial undertakings and a myriad of other crimes following him around, committed under a plethora of aliases he was prone to using.
The wider question of whether or not he could have been Jack the Ripper, is mostly speculative it seems, based on the understanding that he was probably in the UK at the time of the killings, gone at the time that they ended and believed perfectly capable of those sorts of vicious killings. I'm not sure that THE DEVIL'S WORK really addressed this theory all that comprehensively but, on the question of whether or not he was syphilitic and nasty enough to kill women in the way the Ripper's victims were - well there's more than enough there to encourage the rumours, if not actual evidence to support.
Either way, THE DEVIL'S WORK is an interesting undertaking. It's always tricky to come to true crime stories set so long ago as those involved are obviously long gone, and records weren't that comprehensive or easily accessed - especially given the considerable distances over which Deeming moved. The style of this as a narrative, a yarn being woven, worked though, with only a few minor boggy bits overall making for an engaging, rolling along tale. Well worth reading to understand just what a monster Frederick Deeming was, be he Jack the Ripper or not, and what he got away with before finally being bought to justice.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
January 11, 2022
I ordered this one from my local library after listening to a podcast where the author was interviewed about his theory that a man named Frederick Deeming may have been Jack the Ripper. I had never heard of Frederick Deeming, but obviously I have heard of Jack the Ripper! I don't usually read true crime (or even crime/thriller) because I find the market is over-saturated and the genre is almost glorified (especially serial killers). But I do love history and this theory intrigued me as Jack of the Ripper crimes are notorious for their savagery and never being solved.
It's written as narrative non-fiction which at first I had to get used to as non-fiction I read are objective essay style series of facts. I'm not sure whether because Garry Linnel is a journalist he was able to do this style so well, but I found it enthralling once I got through the first few chapters. I usually don't enjoy non-fiction that speculates about thoughts or motivations, but this was done so well.
Frederick Deeming was an horrific man, who was ruthless and a pathological liar and I think if this book was only about him I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. However, the author also provides the reader with history lessons about the context of the time in which Frederick Deeming lived - the Victorian era's obsession with spiritualism, the horrific working conditions men (and children) worked in British mines and factories and the emergence of psychiatry and "insanity" as a defense in the judicial system. He also covers the lives of others involved in Deeming's life (his family, the wives he murdered and men and women who were part of his Australian trial and execution in 1892).
It's a fascinating look at a time in recent history and a man I knew nothing about and I probably would have given this book five stars if it had spent more time on the theory of whether or not he may have been Jack the Ripper. Whilst he can't be ruled out, the evidence is VERY circumstantial of Deeming being in England at the time (and even that's a maybe). So other than the book cover being a "marketing ploy" to get people like me to read the book, the author doesn't go into the theory in any depth. Otherwise, a fascinating read and I will definitely seek out other books by this author.
It's written as narrative non-fiction which at first I had to get used to as non-fiction I read are objective essay style series of facts. I'm not sure whether because Garry Linnel is a journalist he was able to do this style so well, but I found it enthralling once I got through the first few chapters. I usually don't enjoy non-fiction that speculates about thoughts or motivations, but this was done so well.
Frederick Deeming was an horrific man, who was ruthless and a pathological liar and I think if this book was only about him I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. However, the author also provides the reader with history lessons about the context of the time in which Frederick Deeming lived - the Victorian era's obsession with spiritualism, the horrific working conditions men (and children) worked in British mines and factories and the emergence of psychiatry and "insanity" as a defense in the judicial system. He also covers the lives of others involved in Deeming's life (his family, the wives he murdered and men and women who were part of his Australian trial and execution in 1892).
It's a fascinating look at a time in recent history and a man I knew nothing about and I probably would have given this book five stars if it had spent more time on the theory of whether or not he may have been Jack the Ripper. Whilst he can't be ruled out, the evidence is VERY circumstantial of Deeming being in England at the time (and even that's a maybe). So other than the book cover being a "marketing ploy" to get people like me to read the book, the author doesn't go into the theory in any depth. Otherwise, a fascinating read and I will definitely seek out other books by this author.
November 7, 2023
Trigger warnings: murder, death of a child, gore, graphic descriptions of dead bodies, domestic violence, mental illness, cheating.
3.5 stars
Hmmmmmmm. I've been interested in this book for a while now - there's not enough historical Aussie true crime out there in my opinion - and the early stages of the story were utterly engrossing. The discussion of the murders was absolutely horrifying in a whole range of ways, but done in such a way that I couldn't stop reading.
However. Where this lost me was actually the Ripper aspect of the story. Yes, Deeming was considered a possible Ripper suspect at the time his murders were discovered and his trial was ongoing. But from a 21st century perspective, it feels extremely tenuous. And yet the book leans into the Ripper storyline and the possible connection. And, quite frankly, it felt like an attempt at selling more books rather than an actual possible theory that the author believed.
So yeah. I read this much faster than I anticipated. But I was left with the feeling that either the author or the publisher was pushing certain aspects of the story solely for financial reasons and I don't think it was necessary because Deeming's story is horrifying enough on its own.
3.5 stars
Hmmmmmmm. I've been interested in this book for a while now - there's not enough historical Aussie true crime out there in my opinion - and the early stages of the story were utterly engrossing. The discussion of the murders was absolutely horrifying in a whole range of ways, but done in such a way that I couldn't stop reading.
However. Where this lost me was actually the Ripper aspect of the story. Yes, Deeming was considered a possible Ripper suspect at the time his murders were discovered and his trial was ongoing. But from a 21st century perspective, it feels extremely tenuous. And yet the book leans into the Ripper storyline and the possible connection. And, quite frankly, it felt like an attempt at selling more books rather than an actual possible theory that the author believed.
So yeah. I read this much faster than I anticipated. But I was left with the feeling that either the author or the publisher was pushing certain aspects of the story solely for financial reasons and I don't think it was necessary because Deeming's story is horrifying enough on its own.
November 5, 2021
The Devil's Work by Garry Linnell investigates the crime exploits of Frederick Charles Deeming. A man who was arrested in Melbourne in 1892 for his second wife and it was later discovered he had married his first wife and their four children. Not only was Deeming responsible for the murders he had also swindled his way across several countries as well.
Linnell's book is well researched and he allows the reader to be absorbed into the 1890s. While I enjoyed that element, I did struggle with the way the book commenced and the use of Sidney and Marion Dickinson. As what I found was that people like the Dickinson's and others were used to tell Deeming's story through their interactions with him. For much of that Linnell has had to use his imagination to create feelings, thoughts about how these people perceived Deeming. At the beginning Sidney Dickinson's melancholic tone as he undertakes taxidermy and muses over his meeting with Deeming just did not work for me. Using this technique meant it took some time for Deeming and his criminal exploits to unfold. I also struggled to see the connection to Jack the Ripper apart from the type of injuries inflicted on his wives.
I realise this style of creative nonfiction is on the rise and Linnell has certainly mastered the genre. It is a good read and sheds some light on a man who managed to commit some horrendous deeds.
Linnell's book is well researched and he allows the reader to be absorbed into the 1890s. While I enjoyed that element, I did struggle with the way the book commenced and the use of Sidney and Marion Dickinson. As what I found was that people like the Dickinson's and others were used to tell Deeming's story through their interactions with him. For much of that Linnell has had to use his imagination to create feelings, thoughts about how these people perceived Deeming. At the beginning Sidney Dickinson's melancholic tone as he undertakes taxidermy and muses over his meeting with Deeming just did not work for me. Using this technique meant it took some time for Deeming and his criminal exploits to unfold. I also struggled to see the connection to Jack the Ripper apart from the type of injuries inflicted on his wives.
I realise this style of creative nonfiction is on the rise and Linnell has certainly mastered the genre. It is a good read and sheds some light on a man who managed to commit some horrendous deeds.
October 6, 2021
Thank you to Beauty and Lace Club and Penguin Australia for my copy.
3.5 stars.
This was a thoroughly researched book about a killer I’ve never heard of before. The killer was also a very well travelled bigamist, liar and swindler that lead a very interesting and extraordinary life. At times the story seemed so far fetched that I forgot I was reading a true crime story because it reads more like a work of fiction.
The author is also a journalist which shows in the extensive research and details. My only gripe is that there is a bit too much information in some places about some of the characters and I felt a little bogged down.
There are a lot of photos included in the middle of the book so you can see the killer, his victims, other characters and the burial sites of his victims.
All up, an interesting read about some early history of Australia I never knew about. A little gruesome in parts, but a good true crime book.
3.5 stars.
This was a thoroughly researched book about a killer I’ve never heard of before. The killer was also a very well travelled bigamist, liar and swindler that lead a very interesting and extraordinary life. At times the story seemed so far fetched that I forgot I was reading a true crime story because it reads more like a work of fiction.
The author is also a journalist which shows in the extensive research and details. My only gripe is that there is a bit too much information in some places about some of the characters and I felt a little bogged down.
There are a lot of photos included in the middle of the book so you can see the killer, his victims, other characters and the burial sites of his victims.
All up, an interesting read about some early history of Australia I never knew about. A little gruesome in parts, but a good true crime book.
December 10, 2021
I've read and enjoyed Linnell's previous books, as I did this one. The research he has done is intense! Which all adds to the telling of the story. I'd heard of Deeming before, but this was a whole new angle, and I didn't realise the mesmerism movement started so early, and some of the well known figures of history that were taken in by it. Deeming was a shape shifter, amazing to think over 100 years ago too. I liked that Linnell included voices of the women who were affected/involved. I am also in awe of how quickly Deeming was caught WAY before modern technology (phones had just come into use). The beginning of the book he does play with the reader, but I will forgive him that, his writing is engaging.
June 11, 2022
Compulsive narrative non fiction. Read in a day.
Read
August 5, 2022DNF
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews