What Alice Knew: A Most Curious Tale of Henry James and Jack the Ripper

In this historical mystery, Henry James, his sister Alice and his brother William try to solve the identity of Jack the Ripper. William lives in America but has come to London at the request of Scotland Yard to help them solve these crimes, using his psychological training. Alice, who is bedridden is determined to help, using information from William's investigation and Henry's observations. Other historical figures also make appearances: Mark Twain, John Singer Sergeant, Oscar Wilde, and Walter Sickert.

The story is told through the eyes of each of the James'. I loved being in London, 1888. The author did a fantastic job of creating that atmosphere; the art, the literature,the theater, and of making real characters come alive in this show more fictional novel.
I thought the author also nicely portrayed how politics played a role in the search for the killer and how the police looked at psychology as an investigative tool at that time.Though mostly bedridden, one does not feel sorry for Alice, she is very smart and is happy with her life. She definitely knows how to keep her brothers in line as they argue about who Jack's real identity is. The dialogue is sharp and witty and clever.

What Alice Knew is an interesting look at one of history's biggest mysteries, while being very entertaining. I don't know how factual the book actually is, but I don't really care. It kept me engaged and interested.

my rating 4/5 show less

I loved pretty much everything about this book: the historical setting, the thrilling developments, the literary characters, the social observations... it perfectly conveyed the times while also describing a gripping story. History buffs might be put off, because it is very difficult to separate fact from fiction, which to me, is the mark of Marantz Cohen's deftness at creating an imagined world out of a real one. There was only one scene where there seemed to be really too much literati assembled from the times to be truly believable, but generally the real and imagined cohabit brilliantly.
I found the psychological and philosophical discussions just as entertaining: touched on but not ponderously, as well as the gentle sibling rivalry, show more most particularly the depiction of Henry James as a maladroit bon vivant. A delightful find! show less

Novelist Henry James may be the last historical figure one would think would make a good fictional detective, but that didn't stop Paula Marantz Cohen from putting him, his brother William, the psychologist, and their invalid sister Alice in the middle of the search for Jack the Ripper in "What Alice Knew." The result is a terrific and unusually intelligent mystery.

William is summoned to London from Harvard to help Scotland Yard stop the deranged killer. It is thought that the American, already known in 1888 for his insight into the human mind, might be able to see something that will lead to the notorious murderer.

Henry and Alice are already living in London at this time, and they get involved in the case, as well. Henry is a good show more observer of people, and knows a lot of men in the art world and in high social circles, one of whom they suspect may be the man they are looking for. Alice, although confined to bed with a vague illness most of the time, has a very analytical mind and plenty of time to think about the case. So Henry and William report to their sister and tell her everything they have observed in their investigations, while she tries to put all the pieces together.

We learn a lot about the prominent James family in the course of the novel. Cohen tells a good, fast-paced mystery, but she also gives her readers much to think about along the way. show less

Loved, loved, loved this one! Cohen has taken the Jack the Ripper story and created a fascinating, intellectual page turning mystery suspense thriller. Victorian England is captured in all of its gas-lit, murderous glory. The new twist on this well told tale is Cohen's involvement of the three James' siblings: novelist Henry, philosopher and psychologist William and their bedridden sister Alice, in the hunt for the killer.

It is 1888 and London is in the grips of fear, and dinner gossip, over the brutal murders that have recently occurred in Whitechapel. The murders are even a topic of discussion within Henry's eclectic circle of artistic, literary and society acquaintances. Alice, while bedridden, still exercises her alert mind by show more reading three newspapers a day and has her own views regarding these murders. When their older brother William receives a letter from Scotland Yard, requesting his expertise in psychology to aid the investigations, the three siblings are reunited in London and work through the clues together.

Like I said at the start of this post, I loved this one. Cohen has created believable characters in Henry, William and Alice and peppered the story with a number of historical greats: Oscar Wilde, John Sargent, William Sickert and of course, Frederick Abberline, the chief investigator for Scotland Yard in the Ripper cases. She has done a great job capturing the atmosphere and society of Victorian England while still keeping the story fun with sibling and artistic banter. The story was fascinating for its scientific and intellectual examination of the murders and the attempt to get inside the mind of the killer. Cohen maintained a nice control over her story allowing for the suspense to ebb and flow, while building to a suspenseful ending. Cohen also captured enough of the basic background history of the three James' that I am happy to ignore any literary license Cohen may have made to bring the characters to life. My only complaint about the book is I felt that William played a more prominent role in the story than Henry so I don't see why the title mentions the most curious tale of Henry James and Jack the Ripper, unless it is to rely on the literary link of Henry to draw interest to the story.

Overall, a great historical murder mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed. show less

What Alice Knew is an utterly original historical mystery. Paula Marantz Cohen has taken many well known historical figures and incorporated them as the characters in this period tale. Novelist Henry James, his psychologist brother William and their bedridden sister Alice are the main protagonists, but others such as Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain and John Singer Sargent figure prominently.

And of course - Jack the Ripper. Cohen brings 1888 London, England to life with her descriptions of locales and social customs. But it is the dialogue and interactions between the characters that provide such a fresh inventive look at a event that has been covered many times before. The conversations between the siblings is witty, clever and very show more entertaining. The character of Alice is especially engaging - her self imposed bed rest seems at odds with her quick and intelligent mind, but she is self aware. When we get a glimpse at her vulnerabilities, she becomes all the more authentic. Of all the historical figures, I enjoyed her portrayal the most.

"...that the solution to these horrific crimes requires the three of us. Henry, to observe the social world where I sense the murder lurks and to plumb his friends and acquaintances for gossip. William, to study the physical evidence through his contact with the police and to supply psychological analysis where needed.

And you? William asked in amused wonder. What will you do?

Me? She levelled her intelligent gaze at her brothers. I will review what you gather....and solve the case."

Cohen has presented a 'solution' to the Ripper mystery that is both plausible and unique. But the fun in this book is the journey not the resolution. Highly entertaining. show less

This is different - Cohen tackles Jack the Ripper, through the sleuthing of the James siblings (Henry , William, and Alice). The book blurb, cover, and title were a bit misleading. Neither Alice nor Henry play as large a role in the story as William does, and the story isn't nearly as menacing as the cover would have the reader think.

I appreciated that Cohen's plot is grounded in the historical speculation of who Jack the Ripper was, without having the big reveal fall into any of the camps.

I less appreciated the feeling after awhile that this was more or less literary wank for Cohen, who seemed to shoehorn in some famous authors (most notably the very out of place Samuel Clemens) and an entirely tangential subplot involving Jewish show more culture and society at the time. show less

I was absolutely thrilled to be asked to read and review Paula Marantz Cohen’s new novel, What Alice Knew, as I have read nearly every book (nonfiction and fiction) about Jack the Ripper I can get my hands on and I enjoy certain aspects of the Victorian era.

I was not disappointed by this marvelous book, which alternated between darkness and stinging intelligence but always remained descriptive. Ms. Cohen brought to life the bleak disparity between the lucky (the upper class) in London and abject (below working class poor ) residing in Whitechapel of 1888. Turning each page, I could detect the slight lavender from a well to do gentleman’s handkerchief, to the aroma of a nice beef bouillon soup and then, just as quickly, the heavy show more scent of drink and hopeless despair from the squalid streets and back alleys. So vivid were her words that I could easily picture each chapter and event as though I were watching a film, or as if Ms. Cohen were describing such occurrences from memory.

Ms. Cohen takes real persons of note, such as Henry James, William James, Alice James, Oscar Wilde and John Singer Sargent, but to name a few, and spins a fascinating, complex novel. Reading What Alice Knew, it was relatively easy to forget I was reading a work of fiction, based upon actual persons, and not an exact accounting of a horrible season in London in 1888.

Taking on real life persons can be a risky business, nevermind the as-yet officially unidentified Jack the Ripper. Ms. Cohen does so with aplomb. I was fascinated with how she wove her literary web surrounding this black figure and more than pleased and satisfied with how she resolved the mystery.

In all, I thoroughly enjoyed What Alice Knew and found it surpassed my expectations. So good and engrossing was the read that I handily zipped through it in just over 2 days and it left me wanting to read more books of the period, including those of central character Henry James himself.

If you like period dramas, mysteries and thrillers and fictional takes on the infamous Jack the Ripper, I encourage you to pick up this book. You won’t be sorry. show less