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Thames Torso Murders of Victorian London by…
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Thames Torso Murders of Victorian London (edition 2002)

by R Michael Gordon (Author)

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232986,987 (2.75)None
The Thames Torso Murders have been overshadowed by Jack the Ripper and his crimes, but were just as brutal and gruesome. They began in 1887 in London's East End, just north of the Thames River in Rainham, England. The killer took one victim that year, another in 1888, and two more in 1889. He resumed his crimes in 1902, taking his last victim south of the Thames and leaving her body in a pile of dismembered parts as he had done with most of his other victims. This work delves deep into the case of the Thames Torso Murders. It begins with a look at London in the late 1800s, a time of great confusion and tremendous population increase, and the killer's path to London, which seems to include a murder in Paris in 1886. The book then examines in great detail each murder and the investigation that may have been hindered by the search for Jack the Ripper. It also raises the idea that Jack the Ripper and the Torso Murderer may have been the same man--Severin Klosowski, better known as George Chapman, the Borough Poisoner. It ends with an examination of Serial Killers; the Ripper, Torso, and Borough Poisoner murder cases; the search for clues to the serial killer responsible for the five Thames Torso murders; and Wolff Levisohn, a dark horse who seems to have known much about all three sets of murders, testified at Chapman's murder trial, and then faded away as Chapman was sent to the gallows.… (more)
Member:piquant00
Title:Thames Torso Murders of Victorian London
Authors:R Michael Gordon (Author)
Info:McFarland and Company, Inc. (2002), 257 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:***
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The Thames Torso Murders of Victorian London by R. Michael Gordon

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I mostly agree with the other review of this book. I was looking for a Torso murder history, not a Jack the Ripper book (of which I already possess plenty). I'm aware of both the modern and contemporaneous speculation that both series of murders were committed by the same person or persons, and while that may certainly be possible I don't think it likely.

The author does give us a history of the Torso murders, however it is so interspersed with references to Jack the Ripper and asides regarding Severin Klosowski, who the author assumes to be the murderer in both cases, that it rather ruined the book for me. I'm glad I didn't pay much for this! Bought it used.

Unfortunately there are very few books on this subject. I will give the M.J. Trow book a go; hopefully it's better. ( )
  piquant00 | Oct 20, 2018 |
Meh. Although the author does an excellent job detailing the Torso Murders and the social climate of London's East End, his book suffers from the same flaws as nearly every other Jack the Ripper book. Gordon makes far too many assumptions and opinions stated as fact. The notion that the Torso Killer and the Ripper were one and the same is by no means as certain as he makes it out to be. He excludes any evidence that does not fit his theory of Severin Klosowski/George Chapman as the killer. While I think the case against Klosowski is stronger than that of any other Ripper possible, there is no proof he was the ripper or the torso murderer, all of Gordon's assertions to the contrary. At best, we can prove he is the KIND of man who would have done it. Also, I found Gordon's overuse of the exclamation point to be incredibly annoying.

This book is about as good or as bad as any Ripper book you'll come across (excepting of course Philip Sugden's wonderful Complete History of Jack the Ripper). And that's really kind of sad. ( )
  meggyweg | Jan 15, 2010 |
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The Thames Torso Murders have been overshadowed by Jack the Ripper and his crimes, but were just as brutal and gruesome. They began in 1887 in London's East End, just north of the Thames River in Rainham, England. The killer took one victim that year, another in 1888, and two more in 1889. He resumed his crimes in 1902, taking his last victim south of the Thames and leaving her body in a pile of dismembered parts as he had done with most of his other victims. This work delves deep into the case of the Thames Torso Murders. It begins with a look at London in the late 1800s, a time of great confusion and tremendous population increase, and the killer's path to London, which seems to include a murder in Paris in 1886. The book then examines in great detail each murder and the investigation that may have been hindered by the search for Jack the Ripper. It also raises the idea that Jack the Ripper and the Torso Murderer may have been the same man--Severin Klosowski, better known as George Chapman, the Borough Poisoner. It ends with an examination of Serial Killers; the Ripper, Torso, and Borough Poisoner murder cases; the search for clues to the serial killer responsible for the five Thames Torso murders; and Wolff Levisohn, a dark horse who seems to have known much about all three sets of murders, testified at Chapman's murder trial, and then faded away as Chapman was sent to the gallows.

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