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This audiobook focuses on the countless theories that have been put forward with regard to the identity of the notorious Victorian serial killer and offers an extensive section presenting all the known facts in the case. It included 30 essays by the most famous, often controversial Ripperologists putting forward their own theories. It remains one of the few audiobooks to offer a series of alternative solutions to Jack the Ripper's identity and the truth behind the Whitechapel murders.
An atmospheric debut novel set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, Some Danger Involved introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar in London's Jewish ghetto. When the eccentric and enigmatic Barker takes the case, he must hire an assistant, and out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved", he chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man with a murky past.
With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper-class society. But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London. When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name.
It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man - Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.
In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines-- anticipating the detective's next adventure-- only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning -- crowds sported black armbands in grief -- and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.
Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on-his-luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. After a 36-hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness and rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla, from the hands of her abusive owner. And before he knows it, Ruso is caught in the middle of an investigation into the deaths of prostitutes working out of the local bar.
This audiobook focuses on the countless theories that have been put forward with regard to the identity of the notorious Victorian serial killer and offers an extensive section presenting all the known facts in the case. It included 30 essays by the most famous, often controversial Ripperologists putting forward their own theories. It remains one of the few audiobooks to offer a series of alternative solutions to Jack the Ripper's identity and the truth behind the Whitechapel murders.
An atmospheric debut novel set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, Some Danger Involved introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar in London's Jewish ghetto. When the eccentric and enigmatic Barker takes the case, he must hire an assistant, and out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved", he chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man with a murky past.
With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper-class society. But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London. When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name.
It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man - Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.
In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines-- anticipating the detective's next adventure-- only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning -- crowds sported black armbands in grief -- and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.
Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on-his-luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia. After a 36-hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness and rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla, from the hands of her abusive owner. And before he knows it, Ruso is caught in the middle of an investigation into the deaths of prostitutes working out of the local bar.
This is the first truly comprehensive book examining the life and career of the murderer who has become one of America's great supervillains. It reveals not only the true story but how the legend evolved, taking advantage of hundreds of primary sources that have never been examined before, including legal documents, letters, articles, and records that have been buried in archives for more than a century.
Internationally best-selling author Lyndsay Faye became enamored with tales of Sherlock Holmes and his esteemed biographer, Dr. John Watson, as a child and later began spinning these quintessential characters into her own works of fiction - from her acclaimed debut novel, Dust and Shadow, which pitted the famous detective against Jack the Ripper, to a series of short stories for the Strand Magazine, whose predecessor published the very first Sherlock Holmes short story in 1891.
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life. Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. Audrey's work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags her into the investigation of a serial murderer.
While on routine patrol in the tinder-dry Topanga Canyon, environmental scientist Rafael Salazar expects to find animal poachers, not a dilapidated antique steamer trunk. Inside the peculiar case, he discovers a journal, written by the renowned Robert Louis Stevenson, which divulges ominous particulars about his creation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It also promises to reveal a terrible secret - the identity of Jack the Ripper.
December 1889. Fresh from debunking a 'ghostly' hound in Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes has returned to London, only to find himself the target of a deadly vendetta. A beautiful client arrives with a tale of ghosts, kidnapping and dynamite on a whisky estate in Scotland, but brother Mycroft trumps all with an urgent assignment in the South of France. On the fabled Riviera, Holmes and Watson encounter treachery, explosions, rival French detective Jean Vidocq...and a terrible discovery.
It is the year 1888. A madman stalks the East End of London and only Sherlock Holmes and his trusted colleague and scribe Dr. John Watson stand between him and the women he preys upon. However, the world's first consulting detective is plunged into a web of intrigue and deceit. Is Jack the Ripper acting alone? Is there a conspiracy to murder fallen women in Whitechapel? How far must Holmes go to stop it?
Eel Marsh house stands alone, surveying the windswept salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway. Once, Mrs Alice Drablow lived here as a recluse. Now, Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor with a London firm, is summoned to attend her funeral, unaware of the tragic and terrible secrets which lie behind the house's shuttered windows.
Internationally best-selling author Sophie Hannah and the world's favorite detective, Hercule Poirot, return in this follow-up to The Monogram Murders, the national best seller hailed by the Washington Post as "literary magic".
What begins as a routine journey on the luxurious Orient Express soon unfurls into Agatha Christie's most famous murder mystery. This all-star production features lead performances from Tom Conti (The Dark Knight Rises, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence) as Hercule Poirot, Sophie Okonedo (After Earth, Hotel Rwanda and Ace Ventura) and Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes, V for Vendetta and Hancock) plus a full supporting cast.
It is a cold January morning, and Shetland lies beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a splash of color on the frozen ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbor, Catherine Ross. The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man - loner and simpleton Magnus Tait.
Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents' deaths, is curious about the secrets of her father's mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father's former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture...a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes. But her hunt leads her to Hyde's daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns.
Three seemingly separate crimes, three detectives. A mysterious stalker is on the loose in London known only as the Goblin Man and his sights are set on a wealthy businessman, David Daniels. A horrific explosion rips through Whitechapel Underground Station and the prime suspect is a Jewish anarchist. And a Mrs. Clara Edwards is searching for her missing lover, Philias Jackson. What connects these three?
London, 1894.
'I am not a detective, chief constable.'
'No, but you are a poet, a freemason and a man of the world. All useful qualifications for the business in hand.'
So says Police Chief Macnaghten to Oscar Wilde in a Chelsea drawing room, in the company of Arthur Conan Doyle. The business they are gathered to discuss is none other than the case of Jack the Ripper, the most notorious murderer in England. And thus the three men set out to solve one of the world's most famous mysteries - the ultimate truth about the identity of Jack the Ripper.
Case Closed is Arthur Conan Doyle's account of the events of 1894, the year of the return of Jack the Ripper. Based on Oscar Wilde's real-life friendship with Conan Doyle and the extraordinary but little-known fact that in 1894 the detective in charge of the Jack the Ripper investigations was Oscar Wilde's neighbour in Tite Street, Chelsea, this is a revelatory and gripping detective story, combining the intrigue of a classic murder mystery with a witty and compelling portrait of one of the greatest characters of the Victorian age.
From the moment Mr. Brandreth spoke, I was immediately captivated. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next!
Giles takes us on a memorable outing to a time of fogs and handsome cabs
He is a great narrator and brings to life both Wilde and Doyle as he would say - quite beautifully. I very much enjoyed it
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
I listened to this whilst exercising. He really made the characters come to life. I started to wonder if this is really what it would be like if Oscar Wilde and Conan Doyle did become detectives, the best detectives the world has ever seen 👍👍
love this book x
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Would you try another book written by Gyles Brandreth or narrated by Gyles Brandreth?
Doubtful
What was most disappointing about Gyles Brandreth’s story?
Its utterly self-indulgent and vapid characters.
Did Gyles Brandreth do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?
Yes, by drawing upon every possible cliche he could muster.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Overwhelming disappointment and utter confusion as to how it could manage some good reviews.
Any additional comments?
This was little more than a lazy, campy bit of hollow fiction that nakedly soldered together Wilde, Conan Doyle and The Ripper in an attempt to cash in on those interested in any or all of the three. All it did was disappoint across three genres, which in itself is quite an achievement.
I thoroughly enjoyed Jack the Ripper Case Closed, it was thoroughly engrossing and really brought the time in history to life. Gyles voice is as expected was calming and he brought life to the characters.
This isn’t high literature, nor is it part of the serious cannon of “Ripperology”. What this is is a wonderful Victorian murder mystery simply using the facts of the Ripper case to weave a fabulous story. Take it for what it is and you’ll be thoroughly entertained. The characters are likeable, and Wilde predictably entertaining. I’ve read some reviews complaining about Wilde’s famous aphorisms being inserted into dialogue as though normal conversation and there’s something in that criticism: it feel a little like a primary school introduction to Wilde and eyes might roll if you know the subject well. But it didn’t detract from what was nine hours of entertainment, enhanced by Brandreth’s jolly narration.
Clap trap & cliche of a book!! Self indulgent meanderings pandering to the usual and well trodden path of ripperology, add in the cliches of Oscar Wilde & Conan Doyle make this book utterly ridiculous!! The ending is pure Colombo or brandreth maybe trying an Agatha Christie poirot finale but it really is an unsatisfactory end and conclusion to one of the worlds greatest mysteries!! Nothing new or original about this book!! Quite lazy writing
perfectly read well worth listeng to i loved this book but is it case closed . we will never know
.... but only a little in the last chapters and I'm really nit-picking. I know Brandreth is an *ahem* acquired taste but I personally think he is well worth the entrance fee and 'performs' his own writings with gusto and panache (take a drink every time he pronounces "gone" as 'gan") almost worthy of Mansfield himself. As a 'Ripperologist' I could appreciate the ret-conning of the case and suspects and the story interwoven around this is very good. Try not to see the Holmes/Watson comparison long before it is pointed out.
A trip through the dark site of London's society of La Belle Epoque. Fascinating and cruel shortly before WW1. The best of crimes - the worst of crimes. Author Gyles Brandreth's talent - he brings the main characters around the Ripper's case into life based on rich knowledge and astonishing empathy. Arthur and Oscar - Holmes and Watson - but the roles are changed.
An excellent audio book- a MUST for friends of English literature, a phenomenal performance of the reader - Great cinema. Thx.
I loved the premise of this story and hoped that I wouldn't be disappointed. Needless to say, I was not. The story was brilliantly written and wonderfully narrated by Gyles Brandreth. I was sad when it finished. Well done 5*