New candidate discussion: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

[Anna Morris]

Is there any way to place Doyle in or away from Whitechapel at the important times? Was he absolutely known to be some place else during ANY of the murders?

We always wonder why there were no murders in October. Where was Doyle? Was he ill, travelling, engaged in a project?

There may be no answers to these questions but as more and more newspapers become available new things can sometimes be learned.

We recently had a spirited discussion here about whether or not the residents of Whitechapel cooperated with the police.

Personally I don't think Jack killed every single woman he interacted with. Because I believe this I feel it is unlikely that Jack was extraordinary in any way. I believe he was not taller than average, better looking than average, better dressed than average. I believe he spoke English and was not a foreigner, Jewish or otherwise. One other thing we in America tend to overlook is that England has various accents pertaining to classes of people. I believe Jack spoke in a manner that wasn't extremely unusual to the East End.

I believe if he had any of these extraordinary attributes, that women would have commented about a creepy guy (chap or bloke) who accosted them. (For instance Sarah Lewis and/or Mrs. Kennedy had an interesting story about a creep who wanted to go into a dark place with one woman but not two.)

[Curryong]

Conan Doyle was devoted to his mother, whom he called Mam.He wrote to her regularly. This is part of his letter to her on November 14th 1888.

Dear Mam,

Only just got back from Paris today and as you may imagine, found any number of things to do, to say nothing of the fact that I am advertised to give a lecture on Meredith next Tuesday and have not written one word of it. Our little trip was a success. Nem and rhe mother paid for Lottie, so I had only to pay for myself. We were very comfortable. Saw over Versailles, Le petit Trianon, Louvre, Pantheon, Luxembourg, Tour D'Eiffel, Musee Grevin, Le Cirque Nouvelle, 'The Hugenots' at the Grand Opera, Panorame de Bastille, Panorame du Gravelotte etc, etc. Feel much the better for the run....got a good idea for a story at the Louvre....' also ACD mentions shopping and getting his mother a bracelet at the Palais Royal.

Now, in those days a Channel crossing would have been by steam packet and taken some hours there and back.Also, all the things mentioned above, especially the Grand Opera visit, wouldnt have been rushed. Versailles and Le Petit Trianon would have taken half a day alone, by horse and carriage.The 14th November was a Wednesday. The Doyles probably left for France at least five days to a week before. ACD travelled with two of his sisters, one of whom had been staying with Arthur and his wife in Southsea since September.

As we all know, Mary Kelly was killed in the early hours of Friday 9th November. If Conan Doyle was Jack, that would have necessitated cleaning himself up, getting on an early train for Portsmouth, then changing for Southsea, arriving back there ready for Paris. Do-able but hardly likely.

[Curryong]

Doyle turned out for the Portsmouth Football Club, for which he played full forward on the 13th, 27th October and on the Ist of November 1888. He was an enthusiastic sportsman in his youth and played cricket in the summer and football in the winter. So he doesn't appear to have travelled much beyond Southsea in October.

[Anna Morris]

Wow! Look at that itinerary. He was busy! A friend of mine who is a successful businessman has always commented, concerning serial killers, "How do they every get enough time to kill people, cover it up, dispose of bodies, etc.?

He has a point. Every known serial killer I can think of spent quite a bit of time doing things like stalking, perusing pornography, using drugs and alcohol, etc. No reason a SK couldn't have a hectic, informative trip to the continent with his pregnant wife, but all in all it doesn't sound much like something a SK would enjoy that much IMO.

[Michael Banks]

It's way too late to join or resurrect this thread but....as a massive Doyle/Holmes fan and collector I can honestly say, and I really don't care about being called biased, that the 'Doyle was the ripper' book was undoubtedly the most unutterable, execrable, dishonest, hateful pile of excrement that I've ever had the misfortune (or downright stupidity) of reading. The author should be locked in a cell with the idiot that accused Van Gogh.
Few individuals lives are so well known, so well researched, so pored over than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's. We have hundreds of his letters easily available and the opinions of those that knew him. There is nothing anywhere that even hints at anything other than Doyle being a very decent, generous, kind and honourable man.

Of course you could say that I'm biased because I have such a high regard for him (nothing wrong with that) but I am being honest. The book is utterly without foundation and a worthless and vindictive character assassination purely for financial gain.

Goodnight all
Michael

[Chris G.]

It's way too late to join or resurrect this thread but....as a massive Doyle/Holmes fan and collector I can honestly say, and I really don't care about being called biased, that the 'Doyle was the ripper' book was undoubtedly the most unutterable, execrable, dishonest, hateful pile of excrement that I've ever had the misfortune (or downright stupidity) of reading. The author should be locked in a cell with the idiot that accused Van Gogh.
Few individuals lives are so well known, so well researched, so pored over than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's. We have hundreds of his letters easily available and the opinions of those that knew him. There is nothing anywhere that even hints at anything other than Doyle being a very decent, generous, kind and honourable man.

Of course you could say that I'm biased because I have such a high regard for him (nothing wrong with that) but I am being honest. The book is utterly without foundation and a worthless and vindictive character assassination purely for financial gain.

Goodnight all
Michael

Hi Michael

I haven't read the book but agree that Conan Doyle as a candidate for Jack the Ripper is a nonstarter.

That having been said, and I don't know if the author mentions this or else somebody in this thread may have brought it up, Doyle did write in his story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" --

"When a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge."

Best regards

Chris

[Robert Linford]

Doyle never even mentioned the murders in his Holmes stories, did he? I mean, he didn't have Watson entering Room 13 and saying "Madam, you have been cruelly used."

[Michael Banks]

Hi Michael

I haven't read the book but agree that Conan Doyle as a candidate for Jack the Ripper is a nonstarter.

That having been said, and I don't know if the author mentions this or else somebody in this thread may have brought it up, Doyle did write in his story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" --

"When a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge."

Best regards

Chris

Hi Chris,

I respect any man who knows his Holmes

The book is awful. Doyle was no Dr. Grimesby Roylott of Stoke Moran ( or Stock Moron as the subtitles say in the 1980's Russian Holmes series).

It's really hard to understand why someone would write such a book $$$$$

Regards
Michael

[Michael Banks]

Doyle never even mentioned the murders in his Holmes stories, did he? I mean, he didn't have Watson entering Room 13 and saying "Madam, you have been cruelly used."

Not unless I missed it Robert

Regards
Michael