Probate on Druitt's will

[Allison Smith]

Hi Allison,
Sadly, Chris Scott died a few years back. He was an excellent researcher and is very much missed. His source was not a newspaper but the probate records. You can find them on Ancestry. As far as I am aware, there are descendants of Montague Druitt alive today. You mention a footnote, what are you writing?

I feel a little embarrassed to mention my story in amongst these hallowed walls of serious research . . . I am writing (or trying to) an historical fiction of Jack the Ripper (among other serial killers) where Montague is a vampire. Trying to be as historically accurate as I can with Montie while, obviously, taking some liberties with him, as well.

I don't know if any of you are vampire junkies (like me), but Montague is the protagonist and Vlad Tepes is his mentor-turned-enemy. The story spans about 150 years and is, essentially, Montague's version of a temper tantrum over Patricia Cornwell's belief that Walter Sickert was Jack, not himself.

I am aiming to be as historically accurate as I can be with at least Montague's childhood and his family. Obviously, given that he's a vampire, his suicide was his way of faking his death to move on to another place since he had stopped aging, etc. But all the events leading up to that I would like to keep as historically accurate as I can.

I'm hesitant to send an email to a group of LAWYERS and go "I'm writing a book about your ancestor in which he's a vampire, and confesses he was indeed Jack the Ripper . . . could you tell me what his hair and eye colour were, please?" I might find myself litigated right out of my novel idea!

Sad to hear of Chris's passsing - it seems he was a human library!