How Brown
02-10-2010, 07:32 AM
The Forums thanks John once more for contributing time,effort, and answers to questions presented him.
**************************
1. Despite it being 100 years after Sir Robert Anderson first discussed the "low class Polish Jew" suspect, his name attracts as much attention as ever.
Taking a respite from the usual defense or criticism of his comments, would you care to critique his secular writing as opposed to his religious writing and perhaps
in doing so, we can take a fresh look at an old face.....
Looking at Anderson's writings without prejudice is difficult, if not impossible for those of us who are (or seem to be) on one side of the fence or the other with respect to his notorious "theory". But as prolific an author as he was, there is a wealth of material from which we can extract snippets of insight into the man and his often questioned character. As far as his books go, his religious writings dwarf his secular writings as far as numbers go, so maybe an inference can be drawn as to which elements of his life (outside family) were most important to him. Of his three secular works (Criminals and Crime, Sidelights on the Home Rule Movement, and The Lighter Side...), very little of his religious "mania" shows through, but throughout his 25 or so religious books, his professional experiences are used regularly and often to illustrate and defend his positions on the many topics he tackles (The Bible and Modern Criticism, Human Destiny, A Doubter's Doubts About Science and Religion, etc.); so even as it would appear that his passion is clearly for his God, his "official" life played an important part in his life right up until the end, as his references are constant. His cartoonish image which is often portrayed is drawn mainly from the critiquing of a few select passages from Criminals...and The Lighter Side...(as well as the exchanges with "Mentor" in the Jewish Chronicle, etc.), which simplifies a few of his controversial or eccentric ideas and beliefs (as well as the man himself) so as to allow for an easier "guilty" or "not guilty" verdict regarding "addle headed nonsense". As it appears now, it's a hung jury.
Anderson was decidedly anti-Home Rule and his religious views decidedly Protestant, so his critics (especially those on the other sides of those fences) had plenty of fuel to fire their opinions of him. We have to be careful not to fall into that trap.
His Sidelights...is an often overlooked work, and not as seemingly irrelevant as his religious books are dismissed as (by us Ripperologists), and one that, although tangential to the Whitechapel murders, goes a long way into sorting out the complex politics of the time, which surely did have an effect on the public perceptions of the murder investigations.
Anderson staunchly defends creationism and diminishes Darwinism (which to me seems absurd), but his intricate and voluminous knowledge of Christianity and its antecedents, his deeply rooted reverence for Judaism and the Old Testament, his passion and his ability to be self-critical are all elements germane to the matters at hand regarding his "character". HIs high social position notwithstanding, the harder you look at his writings, the more appears a man not only of great intellectual capacity, but one possessed of humility AND integrity. He approaches all of his topics as if acting as two opposing lawyers (but clearly with a view to securing his position), and he faces any and all challengers head-on. Many of his views, both religious and secular, can be seen as harsh and/or disagreeable, but he spends a great deal of effort in defending, justifying and challenging them. To call him opinionated may be an understatement, but to see him as a delusional or self-satisfying dolt is just plain ignorant. Although his many books provide something of a look into this complex character, I'm sure there is a wealth of undiscovered correspondence out there (as Sir Robert's pen seems to have been in perpetual motion as the many articles and interviews that have come to light so far) which will probably continue to disrupt our perceptions of the "Polish Jew Theory". So it might be best to reserve judgment. Brief mentions of the Whitechapel murders in his religious books do show that the murders were never too deeply buried in his mind...
2. As suspect based books seem to stretch credulity even further these days, what books, even if suspect based, in recent years ( say from 2008 until now ) have been the most worthwhile in terms of advancing the Case in your view ?
I'm not sure that there has been much of anything that has come out recently that goes very far in advancing the Case (especially suspect based), but there have definitely been some books that have added color, detail and depth to what we already know about scenes of the crimes, the times and the people- Phil H. and Rob C.'s The London of Jack the Ripper Then and Now (as well as PH's ...Dutfield's Yard and Whitby Collection), John Bennett's E1, Fiona Rule's The Worst Street in London, and Evans/Connell's updated The Man who Hunted Jack the Ripper immediately come to mind; and Jack the Ripper and the East End I find to be in that category also. And although they're not quite as deep, both Uncovering Jack the Ripper's London and Jack the Ripper: the Casebook by Richard Jones have both become personal favorites with me...I think the last book that really went a long way towards advancing our knowledge of "the Case" was Scotland Yard Investigates.
3.What constitutes a typical day for John Malcolm ( with or without the missus) as he/ they venture in the East End ? Give us a blow by blow ( or perhaps, a beer by beer ) account of what all you take in when in The East End.
This I could ramble on about for days. There have been several stages to my East End adventures (the early days of my first few trips, the Ten Bells days, etc.), but I'll take a typical day from one of the times when I would be exploring solo: "Roughing it" staying at the Sheraz (formerly the "Frying Pan") on the corner of Thrawl St. and Brick Lane, I'd typically be recovered from the night before around ten or so in the morning. Once I shook off the cobwebs, I'd spend a couple of hours wandering the neighborhood (probably snapping a few shots), waiting for Pizza Hut in the Whitechapel Road to open up: Meat Feast personal pan pizza, garlic bread with cheese, Heineken (or Stella); from there, the hardest decision of the day: left or right. Whichever I chose, I'd end up doing the same rounds, one way or another. Left would include one or more of The Good Samaritan (behind London Hospital), The Black Bull, The Blind Beggar (among others), but almost always the Urban Bar (nice view of the former Working Lads' Institute). Right it would usually be The White Hart (there's another one going left!), The City Darts (now and formerly The Princess Alice, and more importantly, where I first met my wife), The Ten Bells...Almost always Guinness (but The City Darts once had one of my favorites "Old Peculier", and previously Murphy's was the stout at the 'Bells)). In between I'd randomly choose a path and take in the familiar and the unfamiliar (hoping to learn a little more each time). Lots of photos (some of which I still can't figure out where I was) and video. Considering the gallons of stout I consumed, there are some memories I probably wouldn't have, if not for the moments that were recorded. If it ended up being a late night, there's a nice all-night chow house (take away, usually) in Bishopsgate, or the Kebab shop in the Whitechapel Road; if I started getting dizzy early enough, then it was Monsoon in Brick Lane for poppadums, garlic naan and lamb vindaloo (which more than once was recorded on my shirt). Then a short stagger back to my luxury accommodations, a brief reflection on the day, and then goodnight.
4, Which books outside the general description of "Ripper book" would you recommend to the neophyte ? If you have a couple or even more to suggest, please do so.
I think it's so important to go beyond the murders themselves, and there are dozens of books I would recommend. Some of them would be: Fishman's East End 1888, The Streets of East London and East End Jewish Radicals; The Trials of Israel Lipski by Martin Friedland; Jack London's People of the Abyss; London's East End:Point of Arrival by Chaim Bermant; The Jewish Immigrant in England 1870-1914 by Lloyd Gartner; Rothschild Buildings by Jerry White; The East End Then and Now edited by Winston Ramsey; The East End:Four Centuries of London Life by Alan Palmer...and, as mentioned previously, the newer peripheral books I listed in Q2. I'm not a big fan of fiction, but some in that realm that I've found to really bring the East End to life would be Arthur Morrison's A Child of the Jago and Tales of Mean Streets, as well as Israel Zangwill's Children of the Ghetto.
5. Are there any finds in the past three to five years that you feel have gone unheralded and what do they mean to you ?
There have been so many, mostly within the realm of newspaper reports...I certainly haven't seen them all, much less had the chance to digest them; so this is a tough question. You have posted tons of things I had never seen before, so I think you are one of those who deserve more credit, but you're certainly not alone. Stuff like the article that Debra Arif posted recently ("The violent, table knife stealing first victim?"), would be just one example of something (although not earth-shattering) that really stirs things up for me (like the Kosminski/dog episode), and one of those that may get lost in the flood. Otherwise, the re-evaluation of the Earl of Crawford letter (see Stephen Ryder's "Emily and the Bibliophile") by Rob House, in relation to Aaron Kosminski, might qualify...Kosminski's birth certificate...
**************************
1. Despite it being 100 years after Sir Robert Anderson first discussed the "low class Polish Jew" suspect, his name attracts as much attention as ever.
Taking a respite from the usual defense or criticism of his comments, would you care to critique his secular writing as opposed to his religious writing and perhaps
in doing so, we can take a fresh look at an old face.....
Looking at Anderson's writings without prejudice is difficult, if not impossible for those of us who are (or seem to be) on one side of the fence or the other with respect to his notorious "theory". But as prolific an author as he was, there is a wealth of material from which we can extract snippets of insight into the man and his often questioned character. As far as his books go, his religious writings dwarf his secular writings as far as numbers go, so maybe an inference can be drawn as to which elements of his life (outside family) were most important to him. Of his three secular works (Criminals and Crime, Sidelights on the Home Rule Movement, and The Lighter Side...), very little of his religious "mania" shows through, but throughout his 25 or so religious books, his professional experiences are used regularly and often to illustrate and defend his positions on the many topics he tackles (The Bible and Modern Criticism, Human Destiny, A Doubter's Doubts About Science and Religion, etc.); so even as it would appear that his passion is clearly for his God, his "official" life played an important part in his life right up until the end, as his references are constant. His cartoonish image which is often portrayed is drawn mainly from the critiquing of a few select passages from Criminals...and The Lighter Side...(as well as the exchanges with "Mentor" in the Jewish Chronicle, etc.), which simplifies a few of his controversial or eccentric ideas and beliefs (as well as the man himself) so as to allow for an easier "guilty" or "not guilty" verdict regarding "addle headed nonsense". As it appears now, it's a hung jury.
Anderson was decidedly anti-Home Rule and his religious views decidedly Protestant, so his critics (especially those on the other sides of those fences) had plenty of fuel to fire their opinions of him. We have to be careful not to fall into that trap.
His Sidelights...is an often overlooked work, and not as seemingly irrelevant as his religious books are dismissed as (by us Ripperologists), and one that, although tangential to the Whitechapel murders, goes a long way into sorting out the complex politics of the time, which surely did have an effect on the public perceptions of the murder investigations.
Anderson staunchly defends creationism and diminishes Darwinism (which to me seems absurd), but his intricate and voluminous knowledge of Christianity and its antecedents, his deeply rooted reverence for Judaism and the Old Testament, his passion and his ability to be self-critical are all elements germane to the matters at hand regarding his "character". HIs high social position notwithstanding, the harder you look at his writings, the more appears a man not only of great intellectual capacity, but one possessed of humility AND integrity. He approaches all of his topics as if acting as two opposing lawyers (but clearly with a view to securing his position), and he faces any and all challengers head-on. Many of his views, both religious and secular, can be seen as harsh and/or disagreeable, but he spends a great deal of effort in defending, justifying and challenging them. To call him opinionated may be an understatement, but to see him as a delusional or self-satisfying dolt is just plain ignorant. Although his many books provide something of a look into this complex character, I'm sure there is a wealth of undiscovered correspondence out there (as Sir Robert's pen seems to have been in perpetual motion as the many articles and interviews that have come to light so far) which will probably continue to disrupt our perceptions of the "Polish Jew Theory". So it might be best to reserve judgment. Brief mentions of the Whitechapel murders in his religious books do show that the murders were never too deeply buried in his mind...
2. As suspect based books seem to stretch credulity even further these days, what books, even if suspect based, in recent years ( say from 2008 until now ) have been the most worthwhile in terms of advancing the Case in your view ?
I'm not sure that there has been much of anything that has come out recently that goes very far in advancing the Case (especially suspect based), but there have definitely been some books that have added color, detail and depth to what we already know about scenes of the crimes, the times and the people- Phil H. and Rob C.'s The London of Jack the Ripper Then and Now (as well as PH's ...Dutfield's Yard and Whitby Collection), John Bennett's E1, Fiona Rule's The Worst Street in London, and Evans/Connell's updated The Man who Hunted Jack the Ripper immediately come to mind; and Jack the Ripper and the East End I find to be in that category also. And although they're not quite as deep, both Uncovering Jack the Ripper's London and Jack the Ripper: the Casebook by Richard Jones have both become personal favorites with me...I think the last book that really went a long way towards advancing our knowledge of "the Case" was Scotland Yard Investigates.
3.What constitutes a typical day for John Malcolm ( with or without the missus) as he/ they venture in the East End ? Give us a blow by blow ( or perhaps, a beer by beer ) account of what all you take in when in The East End.
This I could ramble on about for days. There have been several stages to my East End adventures (the early days of my first few trips, the Ten Bells days, etc.), but I'll take a typical day from one of the times when I would be exploring solo: "Roughing it" staying at the Sheraz (formerly the "Frying Pan") on the corner of Thrawl St. and Brick Lane, I'd typically be recovered from the night before around ten or so in the morning. Once I shook off the cobwebs, I'd spend a couple of hours wandering the neighborhood (probably snapping a few shots), waiting for Pizza Hut in the Whitechapel Road to open up: Meat Feast personal pan pizza, garlic bread with cheese, Heineken (or Stella); from there, the hardest decision of the day: left or right. Whichever I chose, I'd end up doing the same rounds, one way or another. Left would include one or more of The Good Samaritan (behind London Hospital), The Black Bull, The Blind Beggar (among others), but almost always the Urban Bar (nice view of the former Working Lads' Institute). Right it would usually be The White Hart (there's another one going left!), The City Darts (now and formerly The Princess Alice, and more importantly, where I first met my wife), The Ten Bells...Almost always Guinness (but The City Darts once had one of my favorites "Old Peculier", and previously Murphy's was the stout at the 'Bells)). In between I'd randomly choose a path and take in the familiar and the unfamiliar (hoping to learn a little more each time). Lots of photos (some of which I still can't figure out where I was) and video. Considering the gallons of stout I consumed, there are some memories I probably wouldn't have, if not for the moments that were recorded. If it ended up being a late night, there's a nice all-night chow house (take away, usually) in Bishopsgate, or the Kebab shop in the Whitechapel Road; if I started getting dizzy early enough, then it was Monsoon in Brick Lane for poppadums, garlic naan and lamb vindaloo (which more than once was recorded on my shirt). Then a short stagger back to my luxury accommodations, a brief reflection on the day, and then goodnight.
4, Which books outside the general description of "Ripper book" would you recommend to the neophyte ? If you have a couple or even more to suggest, please do so.
I think it's so important to go beyond the murders themselves, and there are dozens of books I would recommend. Some of them would be: Fishman's East End 1888, The Streets of East London and East End Jewish Radicals; The Trials of Israel Lipski by Martin Friedland; Jack London's People of the Abyss; London's East End:Point of Arrival by Chaim Bermant; The Jewish Immigrant in England 1870-1914 by Lloyd Gartner; Rothschild Buildings by Jerry White; The East End Then and Now edited by Winston Ramsey; The East End:Four Centuries of London Life by Alan Palmer...and, as mentioned previously, the newer peripheral books I listed in Q2. I'm not a big fan of fiction, but some in that realm that I've found to really bring the East End to life would be Arthur Morrison's A Child of the Jago and Tales of Mean Streets, as well as Israel Zangwill's Children of the Ghetto.
5. Are there any finds in the past three to five years that you feel have gone unheralded and what do they mean to you ?
There have been so many, mostly within the realm of newspaper reports...I certainly haven't seen them all, much less had the chance to digest them; so this is a tough question. You have posted tons of things I had never seen before, so I think you are one of those who deserve more credit, but you're certainly not alone. Stuff like the article that Debra Arif posted recently ("The violent, table knife stealing first victim?"), would be just one example of something (although not earth-shattering) that really stirs things up for me (like the Kosminski/dog episode), and one of those that may get lost in the flood. Otherwise, the re-evaluation of the Earl of Crawford letter (see Stephen Ryder's "Emily and the Bibliophile") by Rob House, in relation to Aaron Kosminski, might qualify...Kosminski's birth certificate...