The Real Mary Kelly - Wynne Weston-Davies

[Edward Stow]

To simplify things - apart from briefly at the start of 1885 when he lived at Lemons Terrace, there is no sound evidence that Craig lived in the East End, and WWD doesn't provide any evidence.
But his noticing of the Mile End Road address on the affidavit was central to his theory and to his development of it.

[Anna Morris]

I hadn't thought much about the penny-a-line reporter comment since in print journalism the journalist can be paid by the line or column inch. But after reading here I checked out the term as used in Victorian England.

In 'Poetry and the Politics: Radical Reform in Victorian England', by James Gregory, this comment is made, "...'speculative' reporter on a penny a line, chronicling accidents and small crimes for the Sunday papers." The author seems to be going back to the 1840s with this comment, comparing Mayhew, Dickens and others.

'Crime News in Modern Britain' by Judith Rowbotham has this sentence, "Most also had a better reputation than the penny-a-line reporters, partly because they were better educated and came from better social backgrounds". This author is discussing reporters who were specifically hired to cover court cases compared the the penny-a-line reporters.

[SGerrard]

The story of the ELA:

http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/heritage/story_of_east_london_advertiser_1866_2008_1_666085

9000 words on Annie Chapman, apparently.

[Caroline Brown]

The book is written as if the details of the lives of the people made main characters are a known. From small pieces of information comes definitive assertion identifying people with the main characters mentioned in the affidavit, their lives and tastes being set out as if known. The case is built with layer upon layer of this type of extremely tenuous extrapolation.

I agree, Ed, although I have only just reached Chapter Eight.

I trust you would not want to see Lechmere, The Real Jack published if there were a danger of it falling into a similar trap.

Love,

Caz
X

[Edward Stow]

Errr, well if I wrote 'Lechmere, The Real Jack' the bulk would be based on examining the actual reports and records which indisputably refer to Charles Lechmere.
The case for Craig being the Ripper and for Elizabeth being Mary Jane are entirely speculative, and the supporting evidence is entirely speculative. It is more or less a work of fiction woven onto the scant details of two people's lives.

[Edward Stow]

At the conference I managed to get a picture of species of oaf paying obeisance to WWD as if he was some sort of Ripperological Royalty.

[Gary Barnett]

At the conference I managed to get a picture of species of oaf paying obeisance to WWD as if he was some sort of Ripperological Royalty.
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If only you'd had a forelock.

[Robert Linford]

Or even a strand.

[Gary Barnett]

Or even a strand.

A couple of Woodbines would have sufficed.

[Howard Brown]

When I was in the hospital 9 years ago, a friend at the old place I used to live at came by every day with a different Ripper book and two packs of cigarettes. He looks like Wynne to an absolute tee...like Wynne's twin.

[Stephen Collyer]

I was going to buy the book, but to be honest the more I hear the less I'm inclined to. If there was ever a case to wait for a heavily revised 2nd edition then I think this may be it.
Reading about the EWD timeline, the author has a very decent case for DNA testing the Kelly remains, but judging from the discussions on here & elsewhere I can't help thinking his publishers twisted his arm to make the unjustified leap of faith with regards to Francis Craig being JTR.

[Edward Stow]

The Craig aspect was central to WWD's interest - and cental to the Elizabeth becoming Mary yarn.
WWD said it was only after he noticed the Mile End Road address given by Craig that his story formed.

[SGerrard]

Thinking about the way in which Edward 'E.T.' Craig is presented in the book; and the effect that his purportedly intractable, emotionally remote personality may have had on his son; a couple of observations -

From his own published writings and from the actions of those who knew him, Edward Craig comes across as having been a widely-regarded and liberal-minded individual, who was active in the Socialist cause until shortly before his death.


As is mentioned in WWD's book, Craig witnessed the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 as a youth of 15. On 14th December 1887 he wrote a letter to the Pall Mall Gazette on his recollections of the massacre; and was subsequently interviewed by the PMG in 1889, published 16th and 17th August. The interviews are certainly worth a read in terms of appreciating the 'voice' E.T.; and notable for his self-professed abhorrence of violence.

Also included in his interview is his recollection of the drunkenness of the attacking Hussars during the massacre, who had been supplied with brandy at Pickfords. It is evident that hs was strongly opposed to alcohol consumption from his own writings; an opposition which may have originated here.


It appears that E.T. and his wife Mary were close friends of William Morris and his wife Jane. E.T. is on record visiting Morris at home independently of the recollections of Morris's daughter; and Morris wrote a funerary verse entitled 'Ode to Old Craig' on his death in 1894. The friendship between the Morris's and the Craigs is referred to in an obituary for Mary Craig, below:





Interestingly, In the last few years of his life E.T. lived in abject poverty, too frail to support himself financially, as illustrated here - from Reynolds Newspaper, 8th May 1892:





Craig's enduring financial problems were in spite of concerted efforts from 1889 onwards by the Co-operative Society, in its several branches, who raised an annuity fund for Edward and his wife Mary, each contributing sums ranging from a couple of guineas to a couple of pounds to the fund - this cutting from the Gloucester Citizen from August 1889 by way of example:




It has been suggested by WWD that the behaviour of Francis Craig in respect of money was bizarre because he entrusted his money to friends who then returned it to him in measured sums - like pocket money; which is taken as supporting evidence of his supposed personality disorder.


However, bearing in mind the poverty in which his parents lived during their twilight years; and the fact that, having lost his former position in an editorial role and presumably working for relatively little Francis would have struggled to have afforded them much financial support himself; it is quite easy to see how Francis may have become anxious about his own finances. Possibly, as would generally be the case amongst those lacking a personality disorder, he found his parent's decline into poverty distressing?

[Robert Linford]

This is from the Milwaukee Sentinel Aug 1st 1897 :

[SGerrard]

Anybody interested can read and account E.T.'s life and works here -

http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/37/3/490.abstract

Full text available from the webpage.

As an aside, it does appear to be the case that E.T.'s biographers have been unaware of the existence of his son, as in this case - Francis appears to have had a low profile in E.T.'s public life, whatever the reason.