How Brown
03-05-2008, 06:00 AM
He was part of the group that started Casebook Productions which resulted in RIPPER NOTES and the American Ripper Convention...He also contributed several articles to the Casebook website of which only the Royal Conspiracy article is still up... He was very active in Ripper studies at that time and spent a lot of time talking in the chats with folks like Dave Yost, Stephen Ryder, Christopher George and such...
Here they are and here he is:
________________________
1. Since your departure from Ripper Notes, have you been involved in any research or activities within the field of Ripperology ?
Well, it’s been awhile since RIPPER NOTES. Since then, I’ve tried to keep up with a lot of the major books that are released but haven’t really been involved in any research of my own. But, when you’re a Ripperologist, you’re a Ripperologist for life! LOL
One thing that I am currently working on is a novel that takes place in Whitechapel during the murders and revolves around the case. The novel starts out as a standard mystery story but takes a decidedly horrific and mystical turn. It stars Victorian writer Arthur Machen as one of the heroes but is narrated by one of his friends. I’m about 150 pages into it and the first murder just occurred! At this rate, it will probably end up being about 500 pages and I hope to finish it this year. It was my goal to portray the case in the most accurate way possible. I want this to be a novel that any Ripperologist can read and say, “well, he got all his facts right!” LOL
2. Which Ripper related books have you read recently that have impressed you ? It doesn't matter if it was 5 years ago...ANY books.
Ah, let’s see. The Sugden book is obviously the highlight of the field. It is the book that I wish I could have written! After reading that, I sincerely felt that there was nothing else to write. Imagine my surprise when new books keep coming out! I am constantly amazed by the amount of excellent scholarship in the field and still find myself stunned at the amount of things I do NOT know.
And, of course, I read all the Maybrick books and Cornwell’s book. I love to read the JTR: A-Z (particularly when doing novel research! LOL). Every once in a while I re-read Stephen Knight’s FINAL SOLUTION because I just enjoy the story so much. I absolutely ADORE Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s FROM HELL and feel that it is probably the best fictional adaption of the case. I liked Begg’s JACK THE RIPPER: THE FACTS and always have a connection to Rumbelow’s book as it was the first I ever read.
3. If your arm was twisted hard enough, do you think you would be interested in attending the 2008 RipCon in Knoxville Tennessee, organized by individuals from the staff of Ripper Notes?
I would LOVE to attend the convention! It’s more a matter of getting myself there! I was fortunate enough to have a paper I wrote read at the very first US Ripper Conference (which I was unable to attend in person) and it would be a major thrill for me to actually attend the Knoxville convention.
4. Whats your position...right here and right now...on the Maybrick Saga,sor ?
LOL. Well, let me just say that I think it’s a really great STORY! I honestly don’t think that this is the correct solution but it makes for one heck of a yarn. I sincerely believe, as Rumbelow stated, that when Jack the Ripper stands up at the end of the universe, everyone will go, “who’s he?” I don’t think that, even at this point in time, truly know who he was.
5. If you had one individual you would like to see more researchers investigate, which one would that be...and if its not too much trouble, why ?
Well, as I just said above, I don’t think that the real Jack is even a suspect at this time. I tend to think that we should be looking towards a Kosminski like suspect if not Kosminski himself. The reason being that my personal feeling is that Jack was not a rational or ‘organized’ murderer. My belief is that he was psychologically unhinged (no surprise, eh?) and was probably only a step or two away from a raving maniac. I don’t believe any of the conspiracy type theories (despite having written the article on the Royal Conspiracy which I’m happy to see is still on the Casebook website) or the famous suspects. I certainly don’t believe for a moment that Lewis Carroll, Prince Eddy, Sickert (any of them), Stephens or Maybrick was the killer. I tend to agree with Stephen Douglas’ profile of Jack which would eliminate most of these suspects. They’re just too ‘sane’ to have been the killer and I believe that Jack would have had a great deal of difficulty passing for ‘normal’ in general society. By this point in time, I feel that we will never know Jack’s identity for sure barring the miraculous discovery of hard evidence. In the meantime, I feel we should look harder at suspects who are more ‘unhinged’ than the popular gang.
Here they are and here he is:
________________________
1. Since your departure from Ripper Notes, have you been involved in any research or activities within the field of Ripperology ?
Well, it’s been awhile since RIPPER NOTES. Since then, I’ve tried to keep up with a lot of the major books that are released but haven’t really been involved in any research of my own. But, when you’re a Ripperologist, you’re a Ripperologist for life! LOL
One thing that I am currently working on is a novel that takes place in Whitechapel during the murders and revolves around the case. The novel starts out as a standard mystery story but takes a decidedly horrific and mystical turn. It stars Victorian writer Arthur Machen as one of the heroes but is narrated by one of his friends. I’m about 150 pages into it and the first murder just occurred! At this rate, it will probably end up being about 500 pages and I hope to finish it this year. It was my goal to portray the case in the most accurate way possible. I want this to be a novel that any Ripperologist can read and say, “well, he got all his facts right!” LOL
2. Which Ripper related books have you read recently that have impressed you ? It doesn't matter if it was 5 years ago...ANY books.
Ah, let’s see. The Sugden book is obviously the highlight of the field. It is the book that I wish I could have written! After reading that, I sincerely felt that there was nothing else to write. Imagine my surprise when new books keep coming out! I am constantly amazed by the amount of excellent scholarship in the field and still find myself stunned at the amount of things I do NOT know.
And, of course, I read all the Maybrick books and Cornwell’s book. I love to read the JTR: A-Z (particularly when doing novel research! LOL). Every once in a while I re-read Stephen Knight’s FINAL SOLUTION because I just enjoy the story so much. I absolutely ADORE Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s FROM HELL and feel that it is probably the best fictional adaption of the case. I liked Begg’s JACK THE RIPPER: THE FACTS and always have a connection to Rumbelow’s book as it was the first I ever read.
3. If your arm was twisted hard enough, do you think you would be interested in attending the 2008 RipCon in Knoxville Tennessee, organized by individuals from the staff of Ripper Notes?
I would LOVE to attend the convention! It’s more a matter of getting myself there! I was fortunate enough to have a paper I wrote read at the very first US Ripper Conference (which I was unable to attend in person) and it would be a major thrill for me to actually attend the Knoxville convention.
4. Whats your position...right here and right now...on the Maybrick Saga,sor ?
LOL. Well, let me just say that I think it’s a really great STORY! I honestly don’t think that this is the correct solution but it makes for one heck of a yarn. I sincerely believe, as Rumbelow stated, that when Jack the Ripper stands up at the end of the universe, everyone will go, “who’s he?” I don’t think that, even at this point in time, truly know who he was.
5. If you had one individual you would like to see more researchers investigate, which one would that be...and if its not too much trouble, why ?
Well, as I just said above, I don’t think that the real Jack is even a suspect at this time. I tend to think that we should be looking towards a Kosminski like suspect if not Kosminski himself. The reason being that my personal feeling is that Jack was not a rational or ‘organized’ murderer. My belief is that he was psychologically unhinged (no surprise, eh?) and was probably only a step or two away from a raving maniac. I don’t believe any of the conspiracy type theories (despite having written the article on the Royal Conspiracy which I’m happy to see is still on the Casebook website) or the famous suspects. I certainly don’t believe for a moment that Lewis Carroll, Prince Eddy, Sickert (any of them), Stephens or Maybrick was the killer. I tend to agree with Stephen Douglas’ profile of Jack which would eliminate most of these suspects. They’re just too ‘sane’ to have been the killer and I believe that Jack would have had a great deal of difficulty passing for ‘normal’ in general society. By this point in time, I feel that we will never know Jack’s identity for sure barring the miraculous discovery of hard evidence. In the meantime, I feel we should look harder at suspects who are more ‘unhinged’ than the popular gang.