James Maybrick And The Diary Of Jack The Ripper. 

I think people love the idea of Jack the Ripper being murdered by a woman. It's exactly the kind of thing a writer would create.

Biggest takeaway for me, never, *ever* keep your cyanide and your water on your desk, in glasses and right next to each other!!

His watch with the engravings makes the diary more believable to me now

I really enjoy that you give your interviewees time to speak without interruption. It makes such a difference. And also gives them rope to gang themselves if their arguments are not actually that logical. This can often be camouflaged by the interruption/ frequent questions style of interview. It also gives the less fluent and confident speakers time to get comfortable, although I’ve noticed you do bail people out if they are really struggling. I wish tv hosts would be more like you, maybe I’d still have a tv!

I'm a solicitor for over 40 years and not easily convinced of anything, but despite its stridency I personally found much quite compelling in the Robinson book and would have liked to see Mr Jones give a bit more substance to his rejection of it. I've read a lot of Ripper books, visited the various locations and try to keep up on the topic, and have also found interesting the lack of attention that Robinson's book seems to attract, at least in places that the person with an ordinary-ish interest would expect to find them.

I really appreciate your covering everything about JTR and giving all the theories and possible Ripper candidates a complete and fair and thorough study, checking through all the evidence from the possible to the easily discredited as well as recreating that era. You set the gold standard on Jack the Ripper research that nobody else comes close to. Also I would have to agree about Maybrick being too old to be JTR; just as Francis Tumblety was.

This channel is the widest-reaching , no nonsense Ripper investigatory vehicle I’ve ever come across.

A scrap metal dealer named Mike Barratt claimed that the diary had come into his possession in 1991, although he eventually admitted that he dictated the diary to his wife, who then wrote it directly into an antique ledger. I find it difficult to believe anything Mike Barratt has said about the diary, particularly as he then recanted his confession. I would honestly take it all with a pinch of salt.

I read a book about the Florence Maybrick case, which I got out of Accrington library, a few years ago. A fascinating story but unbelievably sad.

I absolutely love this channel! This time period feels so close yet so far, and the fact that we may never know who Jack The Ripper was sometimes annoys me to no end! Your voice is very soothing and calming to listen to, you bring information up in a very calm way and keep everything neutral and accurate. In a way it sometimes feels like your videos manage to really drag me back to that time and see how people felt and thought about it all! I read a book a while back that went more into depth into the victims of Jack, at least the "Canonical Five" like what their life was like before they died as much as they knew at least, and the book stated that neither of the five ladies actually went into prostitution, what are your views on this? Has it ever been fully confirmed they went into prostitution or was that just a general assumption that kind of stuck?

Another brilliant documentary, best channel on RU-vid.

I bought this book right when it came out. It seemed somewhat compelling at the time. My only problem was that it seemed so unlikely that “famous” people involved with seemingly unrelated infamous case would have anything to do with JTR. Too good and too odd to be true. I always believed JTR was a “nobody”, like pretty much every other serial killer ever. Still I was hopeful, somewhat disappointed, but not surprised when it was proven to be a hoax about a year later. BTW, I believe JTR was Charles Lechmere, the guy found at the site of one of the murders. VERY compelling case presented by a Swedish journalist.

I don’t think any of the suspects is the real killer. I believe the real killer went completely under the radar.

I still feel it was James Maybrick.

I can remember my Brother in law had bought a copy of Dairy of Jack the Ripper when it was published back in '94! My sister and her family had gone to Donegal for a holiday and I was house sitting for them. One night I picked up the book and started reading. Finding out it was fake merely a year later was a crushing blow, however at the time of reading, I found myself jumping at shadows and every creak the house made, sent this then 18 year old dashing to turn the main lights on. Definitely one of the most chilling books I have ever read, haunting as hell!

I remember the Michael Winner documentary very well from the early 90's. Seeing a lot of Ripper authors sitting round a table discussing it and rubbishing it. I think most people would come to the conclusion it's nonsense but it's very interesting. Thanks again...

I like his diary, I've got a copy. I just finished listening to on audible the autobiography of Jack the Ripper written in the late 1920s by James W Carnac and that is awesome, blew my mind! I recommend everyone listen to it...puts it in a whole new prospective. You'll be blown away when you find out the reason why the murders suddenly stopped.

Fascinating discussion. Great interview Rich! It looks like we can reasonably close the door on a suspect. I’ve heard of his brother recently being named as a suspect. I would have liked to hear Chris’ opinion on the notion.

Great to see this pop up tonight. Fascinating as always. Always new information. Never boring.

I read the diary when it first came out. It was obvious that Maybrick was hooked on arsenic. He put it in his food, and he bragged about how much he used. It doesn't make sense that his wife was charged with poisoning him when he was constantly poisoning himself.

I was 8 when the “diary” was published- I got my mum to buy it for me in hardback. I know it turned out to be fake but I was obsessed with it and it kickstarted my ripper fascination that I have to this day.

It sounds compelling, but the fact that it ends with the author signing "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" just sounds like a cheesy plot twist.

I would think that if James Maybrick was the killer, he would've loved filling his diary with all the gory details. With every serial killer I'm aware of, they view their murders as their life accomplishments. You'd think that's especially true for a murderer that took "trophies" like Jack the Ripper did.

Brilliant 👍 Now can you do a documentary on his brother ? Michael Maybrick.?

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this video. It has been very well explained 👏 👏👏 Great work 👍

Excellent video and very educational. I would have liked to have briefly touched upon the journal's author's claim of leaving clues such as initials at the murder sites, etc. But great in depth analysis and I learned a lot. Thank you.

Excellent! Love these interviews/discussions! 👏👏👏

Who forged the diary? Why did they choose James Maybrick as the culprit? They mist have thoroughly researched him. Why pick him if he was such a poor candidate? Open to answers

The good stuff just keeps pouring out from you these days pal.This time about the sad merchant,and his poor wife..Though hard to belive he was JTR,it is a facinating story.Thanx alot again for a superb upload!!!

Interesting video, but the guy being interviewed here is a total Ripper Diary skeptic and he is obviously stating his side of the story, fair enough. I still personally thank that the diary is genuine and that James Maybrick was Jack The Ripper.

Amazing interview with Chris Jones. Thanks agaib for another interesting video.

Some thought it was a person who knew about surgery as he had knowledge of where to cut referring to his murder of Marie Kelly . He took out her some of her internal organs with surgical accuracy

Great video. I remember reading the diary back in the early 90s when it was first published and if anything swayed me into thinking James Maybrick was JTR. Videos like this certainly highlight the possibility of it being a forgery. But i'm still to be convinced as everything seems so open to debate and inconclusive. Chris does raise some good points though. One thing I can't help wonder is why would someone make a forgery? As it seems to be a greatly 'researched' document for very little reward.

Excellent interview. Even if it is a forgery, which it almost certainly is, you have commend whoever created it for their creativity for bringing James Maybrick into the story

Enjoyed all your series but it will not be complete without one on micheal maybrick

Very good interview. Great guest. Thank you for the info.

As I had read this "" diary I actually read it a few times and made note of various remarks ..Of note was one stating have taken up new rooms in Middlesex St , I've watched and read most that's produced about JTR ,I got thinking where have I heard the mention of Middlesex St re: with JTR , I got it years previously on a program involved with geographical profiling refrence was made the most likely quarters housing JTR was Middlesex St this was said years before any diary

Really enjoyed this interview, thank you for sharing, even now in 2022 its still fascinating to hear and also a breath of fresh air to hear the pros and cons, thanks again, much love N Ireland 👍

Why would a forger go to such lengths to forge the diary only to get Maybrick's handwriting completely wrong? makes no sense.

Richard, could you maybe get Shirley Harrison on to go through her theory in detail as I do enjoy when you get authors to detail their theories? It would only be fair for her to put her arguments out there for people to listen too.

What an amazing memory he has. Such a deep knowledge of the minutiae

The BBC show Murder, Mystery and My Family. Covered the case of James Maybrick and found the case against his wife of murdering him to be unsafe.

Very interesting. I was wondering about the handwriting. I would think there would be samples available from his businesses. Good call on looking in Virginia.

Very interesting! Thank you for sharing Mr. Jones. I’ll order the book first thing tomorrow morning.

That was great, As a person in 1992 I thought Maybrick was the Ripper. The FM on the Kelly wall crime scene etc, then all got bit silly!! Have to get this guys book, clears lot up. Sad, tragic life of the Maybrick's really. Thanks for this. Great stuff.

The Victorian Era treated Women Very unfairly..

Interesting video, I remember reading the book about the diary when it first came out. I think I wanted to believe that something new had surfaced in the ripper case but after a bit one simply has to admit that the diary just doesn't hold up to scrutiny. I do have to admit that it was an entertaining read and on the surface seems like it could be genuine, unfortunately for all the reasons explored here, maybrick is just not a likely suspect for the ripper.

I would have thought a Forensic analysis of the paper and ink of he diary would have been proof if it was a fake or real

Micheal maybrick read the book they all love jack

James "would have", ", should have". This sceptic is so subjective that it's ridiculous.

Just fascinating!! Thank you…

I am so thankful I found this. Excellent to even know about this, it was excellent point of view on this. Plus, As many books I have read, movies I watched, and pod cast etc I have done, in the comments from every one there are more.

No, James was not JTR. However it might be a really good idea to take a closer look at someone very close to James. This someone despised women, he despised Florence more than any of them. As a matter of fact Florence maintained throughout her life that this man had a " major spite " against her. He also had one about " dear Charlie " . The handwriting on the wall heavily suggested: "" What else do you need to know me by? ".And the murder of Mary Kelly was written in a book and followed to the letter. It was also a complete cover up from the lowest to the highest. For goodness sake!! Mary Kelly was carried out in buckets and we are expected to believe he left no clue? There were clues all over the place, at every murder and they were covered up. You're on the right elephant but sitting backwards.

andy5xcool 1 day ago There are a few things I don’t like about Maybrick being the candidate for JTR. Firstly, for the diary to be genuine you have to then believe that Maybrick wrote the letters to the press as he gives himself the moniker of JTR. I don’t believe those letters are from the killer, therefore Maybrick signing off as JTR doesn’t make sense. Secondly, I believe whoever killed Polly Nichols was interrupted due to the lack of injuries, therefore people who believe Lechmere was the killer also believe he was interrupted, then you would have to agree that this should have been a huge factor to document in a diary, be it Maybrick or someone else. Maybrick doesn’t say he was interrupted in his diary for Polly but does say he was for Elizabeth Stride??? Thirdly, I believe MJK was a copy cat killing. For Maybrick to include this in his journal was a mistake by the forger IMO. If someone could correct me if I’m wrong, but despite all the other reasons many have discussed as to why MJK doesn’t fit JTR’s demographic of victim, the one thing that really stands out for me is that he allows arterial flow with MJK, and I believe that she did manage to scream “murder” all be it with a cut throat as witnesses claimed to have heard. This shows that whoever killed MJK lacked the knowledge to strangle first before cutting the throat unlike the previous four murders. Another note about the diary is he mentions a brother (Edwin) coming back from America after Christmas. I’ve checked the Ellis island records and his brother’s arrival is about three months earlier in 1888 not as the diary would have you believe after Christmas, which I would presume to be 1889 (doesn’t mean to say that Edwin didn’t arrive earlier and stayed in London for a couple of months before he visited James, but unlikely). In terms of the glue found in the diary. It could be legitimate of Maybricks. Not for photographs but for swatches of cloth samples, he was a cotton merchant after all.

A great interview - thank you

I do not recall any direct comparisons between the script of “Jack’s diary and letters” and Michael Maybrick’s handwriting.

Honestly, I can't even imagine why Maybrick was ever taken seriously as a possible JTR suspect. The only evidence to make this claim is an obviously fake diary. Personaly, Kosminski will always be my first choice for the title of JTR.

Interesting post. Think most people would say its definitely a fake.

Why write a confession, then hide it? If you had second thoughts why not burn it?

So james never mentions the, silver empty match box tin, no one knew about until the 90,s, or the two farthings, or the riddle on the wall.

Regarding the Manchester murders in the book, is there any evidence of a pair of murders there in around 1888 that had similarities with the Ripper murder?

My first thought was: why bring James Maybrick, a total unknown, into the fray? From the forger's perspective, this would make it much harder going; to first convince the experts of a 'new kid on the block', then of his opportunity and motive, THEN that the diary is genuine. But then I read the diary, and was struck by the almost superficial feel to it. It's too lucid; it's too neat. I can't believe it's genuine. So my theory is that the first 20 pages torn out contained old photos, etc, as suggested by the experts' examination of the pages. And I wonder if one of those photos was of Maybrick - a creepy looking fellow you have to admit - and that the creepiness of this very old, 1880s photo, naturally summoned up the spectre of JTR, and the thought how wouldn't it be amazing if this wasn't an old scrapbook with some old photos in it, but a diary. Hence the forgery. (Any way of checking the probable era that the pages were torn out?) Other than that, could Maybrick have been more than a little delirious, and somebody in the house wrote down what he said in his delirium? That might account for the doodled lines and odd rhymes/words, doodled in between taking down Maybrick's words.

Great analysis of the diary! I do sort of wish it to be true, but it just seems too unlikely.

Excellent interview .

Did the handwriting in the journal match the handwriting on the ripper letters?

I would love to hear your take on the Zodiac Killer and the suspects.

It would be great if we had a Scouse Jack the Ripper 😊

You interview many Ripperologists with many different theories. You don’t usually dedicate an entire episode and have one guest to try to dismiss a theory. This makes anyone with a skeptical mind think this is propaganda. I believe James Maybrick is the most likely suspect. Of course his handwriting would change as he slowly died of arsenic over the course of months.

That's why the secretary of the home office did not kill her and they released her after 14 years because she said she killed a monster and was in fear for her own life but they did not want the embarrassment to come out to the public

Great post and spot on. I love how close we truly are to the Victorian era. Flo only died 25 yrs before old bastard yours truly was born.

A couple of comments. The interview implies that this is a relatively modern forgery yet the scientific analysis doesn't back that up nor does it prove its authenticity. However the dates thrown up are 1920s and this for me would mean this be more likely to be genuine than a forgery. As for the last entry. As the last entry is probably a suicide note then it makes total sense. He finishes the diary with his suicide note. He hides the diary and then he takes his poisonous mixture. There could also be a relative simple explanation to the little description surrounding the murders. He is writing it all on the same day. Or the last couple of days of his life prior to his suicide. He then doesn't remember all the details from the early murders and then final murder when he's clearly lost the plot but being able to detail everything in detail without getting anything wrong is doubtful.

What a treat. Thank you to both.

Couldn't have been Maybrick , his name was James . 🤔

Such an interesting topic. Could Florence be the author? Could she have written it after the fact to either "justify" the so-called poisoning or to point the finger at him out of anger? Or, could she have written it because she knew for a fact that he was Jack? Either she knew it, or he confessed it to her (lying or telling the truth) or she was trying to pin the murders on him.

Just found another Jack the Ripper video to watch.😊

really great interview

Nuts. I sort of liked Maybrick as Jack.

I bought the book in 1993! A fun read.

Great interview!

Will the book be available in the US?

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

If as you believe it’s a fake,wouldn’t the forger have made sure that the handwriting matched,I would have though that would have been a priority.

Did anyone check to see if maybe the wife wrote the so called diary?

Can someone explain how they would know what the levels of arsenic in his system was? Just curious I figured they wouldn't be able yo deduce that kinda stuff as well back then

I think the reason he was use as the avatar for the ripper is THAT BLOODY LITHOGRAPH OF HIM !! Even if he wasn't associated and you typed 'show me what jack the ripper looked like' , that is the picture which would come up....

Great narration, many thanks

Who wrote the diary then? I mean if it was forged at the time of the killings.. that's weird.. why Maybrick? That'd be like me going, "eyy you heard about the guy in town that got shot last night, it was me (some random guy's name whom I know and implicated now for no reason what so ever)." And then I'd just hide this book somewhere.. never tell anyone about it and it'll be found 100 years from now. What possible motive would I have to fabricate a story like that? A forgery that won't even be found within my lifetime about I guy that I know who has already died too. And why was it forged? It's not like the person who forged it has tried to sell it or anything since it just showed up in 92..

what really gets my goat up is when JTR is depicted as a Top hat n cape wearing surgeon bag carry felon

I'm just wondering why the son (the mining engineer) had a glass of cyanide on his desk. I may be missing something, but it doesn't sound right!

Interesting interview! 👍

I read that diary years ago and it was creepy to me. Whoever wrote that was a disturbed individual. This doesn't make them Jack. But whoever they were they were crazy. Back in the day people scrafched things inside of jewelry like pocket watches and lockets. I have a locket from the time period and it's got initials and a date scratched inside of it. Anyways I read about that Maybrick murder case too. She really got railroaded.

I agree interesting video about a diary of Jack the Ripper the journal’s author’s claim of leaving clues such as initials at the murder site etc.

Fascinating video! I don't know much about the subject, and these people. I can understand every word Chris Jones' says. They are both so well versed on these cases, and have amazing memories. Thank you for this.

Wasn’t it also suggested Michael the brother of James was the ripper?

Even ripperologist are guilty of this they always show him with a cape a tophat and a black bag. First of all two men were nearly lynched going through Whitechapel with a black bag. It started all the way in the 1880s but when you look at people that actually saw the ripper a top hat a cape or a black bag was never mentioned I think Whitechapel was his home which means he was likely very poor whoever the ripper was. I believe in my opinion he is either Charles lechmere or Aaron kosminski. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence about lechmere for example Robert Paul did not know the victim was even dead because the blood had not even leaked out yet. Meaning she had been dead only for minutes possibly seconds. He saw lechmere pull the dress down to cover the mutilations. The police officer did not realize how the ripper got out without being seen. I propose he did not get out he was still there and outsmarted the police. Also four of the five victims were killed on the path that he took going to work or to his mother's house at a time when he would have been on the path. That puts him in direct vicinity of the crime scene in four of the five victims. The 5th victim of course was killed in a house. Aaron kosminski you have both the DNA weather people discount it or not but if that was all he would be easy to dismiss unfortunately for him that is not all. A Jewish man positively identified Aaron kosminski as standing by the long liz moments before she was murdered. He said he is absolutely 100% certain it was Aaron kosminski. When he found out kosminsky was a Jewish man and his testimony could bring about kosminsky being hung he absolutely refused to testify from that point forward. I am 99 beyond 99% sure that one of these two men is undoubtedly the ripper.

His wife hid it after his death her last letter before his death told of his story he told her that she thought was only to horrify and scare her

Interesting interview! Is there a link 4 the book?x

Oo thank you always love hearing about this case or cases sorry 👍❤

Remember picture based therapy is valuable in a developmental psychology of to with minds of English citizens from birth to childhood all had the mentalities of teenagers even when older, so I know that just without watching this specific video enforcing the theory that the Ripper looked like Maybrick, but was probably foreign, & unknown to normal Whitechapel citizens -

I was thinking that Maybrick was dosing his self with arsenic and she killed him to stop the murders