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As for Dare, he lies undisturbed in the tu

Indeed, only in one quarter does the memory of Thomas Dare persist, and it is not he that is remembered but the flavor of his flesh. For he can be commemorated only by his brethren, the other creatures of the dark Londontown Beneath, the black rats.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Ripperologists will note, I hope, that in most cases I have stayed well within consensus regarding the Autumn of the Knife. There are a few “willed” inaccuracies that I had to insert to sustain a dramatic structure. In acknowledging them, I hope to stave off pe

—Mr. Diemschutz said in testimony that he went in the side door of the Anarchists’ Club, not the front door on Berner Street, as I have it. I had to move him out of the yard so that Jack could do what Jack did.

—The journey of the missing half of Mrs. Eddowes’s apron was more complicated (and more tedious) than the streamlined version I have provided, but it came to the same thing. Readers should thank me.

—No evidence was ever encountered suggesting a tu

—Contra my account, the newspapers paid no particular attention to A

In one area I am apostate. That is the method of Jack’s attack on his first four victims. Consensus has decided that he knocked them to the ground first, muffled their screams with his left hand, and cut their throats, begi

I believe, as I have dramatized here, his angle was directly frontal; he faced his victim as if to purchase service and attacked suddenly with a sideward snap of arm and wrist and essentially drove the blade into the throat under the ear in a vicious chop, then rotated about the stricken woman to draw it around as he eased her to the ground. I hope to find a forum to say more on this issue at a later time.

Now on to thanks. Le

I should also mention the remarkable website Casebook: Jack the Ripper. Scrupulously maintained and scrupulously fair, it provided quick answers to basic questions and deeper answers to deeper questions, and gave me the sense that someone was watching over me. Hope the boys enjoy what I’ve done with their labors.

Besides his research, Le

One of the early champions of my take on Jack was James Grady, the thriller writer and a good friend; his enthusiasm actually carried me for years while I tried to work out a way to tell the story as it had occurred to me in a flash one night. Bill Smart was another early and vociferous backer, and his enthusiasm was such a help. Any writer stuck in a plot hole or a character swamp or an editor jam knows how much it helps to have a guy who’ll back you up, pull you out, tell you you’re the best (even if it’s not true!), and send you on your way. Bill was that guy for me.

Others include usual suspects Jeff Weber and Barrett Tillman. Newcomers (but old friends) were Frank Feldinger, Dan Thanh Dang, who supplied me with a crucial woman’s view of the proceedings, and Otto Penzler. Walt Kuleck, author of the Owner’s Guide and Complete Assembly Guide series of firearms books, provided invaluable expertise on a host of non-firearms issues. David Fowler, M.D., the Maryland Medical Examiner and a friend, advised on technical issues. My great friend Gary Goldberg kept the technical aspect of the operation going brilliantly. Someday he’ll have to explain to me exactly what “digital” means. My wife, Jean Marbella, brewed 240 pots of coffee, which got me up and got me upstairs. My thanks to them all. I am a fortunate man to have such folks in my circle.

One question you might have: Steve, since you’ve done all this research for a novel on Jack the Ripper, do you know who he really was?

My answer: Of course I do. Watch for it. It’s going to be fun.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

© KELLY CAMPBELL

Stephen Hunter has written twenty novels. The retired chief film critic for The Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism, he has also published two collections of film criticism and a nonfiction work, American Gunfight. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

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authors.simonandschuster.com/Stephen-Hunter

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books, Journals, eBooks, and Web Articles

Ackroyd, Peter. (2011) London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets. London: Chatto and Windus.