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The Fox And The Flies: The World Of Joseph Silver, Racketeer And Psychopath
At the end of the nineteenth century European pimps and 'white slavers' established a hugely successful global market for commercial sex and for three turbulent decades before the First World War, Joseph Silver was central to this hidden world of betrayal, intrigue, lust and sexual slavery.
Burglar, gun-runner and trafficker in women on four continents, Silver was a disturbed adolescent, youthful predator and adult misogynist whose notoriety was captured in the most confidential correspondence of a dozen countries in the western world. But what those in charge of law-enforcement agencies kept to themselves was how their officers had attempted to use Silver as an informer to infiltrate syndicates, only to have him outwit them as he moved in the dangerous space between police and prostitutes.
In this brilliant study, Charles van Onselen situates the private life of one man amidst the demi-monde of the Atlantic world and casts a brilliant light on the most infamous serial killer of all time - Jack the Ripper.
Burglar, gun-runner and trafficker in women on four continents, Silver was a disturbed adolescent, youthful predator and adult misogynist whose notoriety was captured in the most confidential correspondence of a dozen countries in the western world. But what those in charge of law-enforcement agencies kept to themselves was how their officers had attempted to use Silver as an informer to infiltrate syndicates, only to have him outwit them as he moved in the dangerous space between police and prostitutes.
In this brilliant study, Charles van Onselen situates the private life of one man amidst the demi-monde of the Atlantic world and casts a brilliant light on the most infamous serial killer of all time - Jack the Ripper.
672 pages, Hardcover
First published September 18, 2007
About the author
Charles van Onselen
25 books11 followersCharles van Onselen was educated at the Universities of Rhodes and Oxford. He has written extensively on 19th and 20th century South Africa. In 1983, his work on the social and economic history of the Witwatersrand won the Trevor Reese Memorial Prize for outstanding achievement in Commonwealth and Imperial history.
He is a well-known critic of Afrikaner nationalism whose earlier works include Chibaro: African Mine Labour in Southern Rhodesia, 1890-1914 and The Small Matter of a Horse: the Life of Nongoloza Mathebula, 1869-1948 and New Babylon, New Nineveh. In 1995, his biography of the life and times of Kas Maine, a black sharecropper, The Seed is Mine, won the Alan Paton Award for non-fiction.
In 2012 he was Research Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Pretoria.
He is a well-known critic of Afrikaner nationalism whose earlier works include Chibaro: African Mine Labour in Southern Rhodesia, 1890-1914 and The Small Matter of a Horse: the Life of Nongoloza Mathebula, 1869-1948 and New Babylon, New Nineveh. In 1995, his biography of the life and times of Kas Maine, a black sharecropper, The Seed is Mine, won the Alan Paton Award for non-fiction.
In 2012 he was Research Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Pretoria.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 20, 2022
This is an impressive biography. Van Onselen tracked a criminal through the Jewish Diaspora all around the Atlantic. The ability to track a petty criminal through a dozen nations 100 years after the fact makes this study almost too good to be true. So many criminals evaded detection without the elaborate subterfuge and wanderlust of Joseph Silver. That Van Onselen was able to track him makes this an amazing biography. There is an overabundance of incidental information; but it does contribute to the overall narrative. However, the book does turn 180 degrees when Van Onselen proposes that Silver was Jack the Ripper.
Born in a small town in Russian-occupied Poland, Joseph Lyss left home in his teens, crossed Germany, and ended up in London in the 1880s. A poor male Jew, traveling without family, yet coming from a family / clan that dabbled in extra-legal behavior, he quickly became involved in the underworld as a petty thief, burglar, pimp, and white-slaver. He began a complicated balancing act of cooperation and conflict with authorities - betraying friends and foes alike. It was a quality that would characterize him for the next 40 years. After London, New York; after New York, Pittsburgh; after Pittsburgh, South Africa via London; after South Africa, Germany, France, and Belgium; and Europe, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil; after South America, London (again); after London, back to New York; after New York, back to Germany, Poland, and Austria. Through in the Russian Army, and readers will see what an amazing journey Joseph Silver took through life.
But he was no tourist. He always remained a criminal, and an especially treacherous one at that. His primary occupation was in buying and selling women. Again, Van Onselen was able to trace several Jewish prostitutes through the white slave traffic - a research topic incredibly difficult to pin down today, much less 100 years ago across many borders. Silver was not a skilled criminal. He was frequently captured, convicted, and deported. He rather famously left England in a boat loaded with fellow pimps and prostitutes - confounding authorities in both England and their destination in Cape Town. His brazen business led to notoriety in many countries, making it easier to locate him.
The Herculean task of tracking his movements was easier because of his legal escapades. To be sure, he may have the most documentation available in Van Onselen's own South Africa. But it still borders on the unbelievable. After the conclusion, Van Onselen dedicates nearly another chapter in acknowledgements outlining how his research was possible. He attributes his success to divine intervention; but I suspect he is merely being modest. I see no evidence of forgery or fabrication in his data. Combined with his other accolades, I believe the research to be honest. I do have skepticism towards some of his characterization of Jewish societies (Max Hochstim Association, Warsaw Club, and American Club) as being pimp fraternities. Since the MHA was based in New York, it is reasonable to assume that there would be other sources covering such an organization; but no. Readers will need to follow his own citations - Freid's Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster, and Gilfoyle's City of Eros. Considering that he found so much on Silver, it is unfortunate that he never found conclusive evidence of Silver's demise.
Other reviewers have commented on the huge amount of incidental information in the book. Most comments argue there is too much description of each location and society that it overshadows the main story of Silver's travels. I believe the information is more useful to account for both his notoriety and his tendency to get caught. For all of his roguish qualities, Silver was a shrewd underworld operative, seeking new opportunities and proving his abilities. His ambition frequently led him into conflict with established underworld systems. Silver used his love-hate relationship with law enforcement to either create or exploit divisions within law and order. If he joined an established network as in New York or Buenos Aires, he quickly rose to prominence. But if he chose to compete against prevailing racketeers in a weak political climate, tension (and usually his arrest and deportation) followed. The incidental information accounts for his successes and failures.
Of course, all of this is cast aside when Van Onselen reveals his main thesis: Joseph Silver was Jack the Ripper. With no evidence, he makes this wild claim. It is as though a talented historian wrote a mammoth, and definitive, work on Richard Nixon, and then concluded in the last chapter that Nixon was the Zodiac Killer because Nixon probably was in California in the late 1960s....This chapter is based on incidental information and wild interpretations. The belief that Silver was the only misogynistic pimp in White Chapel in 1888 is beyond belief. Van Onselen's argument that Silver was plausibly "Joseph Isaacs," the mysterious lover of the last Ripper victim, is tenuous by the sheer fact that Van Onselen found no evidence that Silver had any connection with Gentile prostitutes. The evidence is not even circumstantial. A potential Ripper suspect....maybe....but no further murders similar to Ripper in any of Silver's future ports really argues against it.
Overall, it is a fascinating book. It does drone on. But it displays thorough research. Dedicated law enforcement authorities cannot track criminals as thoroughly in Twentieth Century America as Van Onselen does for Silver. Van Onselen relies on court documents and newspapers for much of the content. The Goddess Clio accounts for some specific documentation elsewhere. If readers are curious about Jack the Ripper - get a book on the Ripper. This book focuses on the Jewish white slave traffic.
Born in a small town in Russian-occupied Poland, Joseph Lyss left home in his teens, crossed Germany, and ended up in London in the 1880s. A poor male Jew, traveling without family, yet coming from a family / clan that dabbled in extra-legal behavior, he quickly became involved in the underworld as a petty thief, burglar, pimp, and white-slaver. He began a complicated balancing act of cooperation and conflict with authorities - betraying friends and foes alike. It was a quality that would characterize him for the next 40 years. After London, New York; after New York, Pittsburgh; after Pittsburgh, South Africa via London; after South Africa, Germany, France, and Belgium; and Europe, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil; after South America, London (again); after London, back to New York; after New York, back to Germany, Poland, and Austria. Through in the Russian Army, and readers will see what an amazing journey Joseph Silver took through life.
But he was no tourist. He always remained a criminal, and an especially treacherous one at that. His primary occupation was in buying and selling women. Again, Van Onselen was able to trace several Jewish prostitutes through the white slave traffic - a research topic incredibly difficult to pin down today, much less 100 years ago across many borders. Silver was not a skilled criminal. He was frequently captured, convicted, and deported. He rather famously left England in a boat loaded with fellow pimps and prostitutes - confounding authorities in both England and their destination in Cape Town. His brazen business led to notoriety in many countries, making it easier to locate him.
The Herculean task of tracking his movements was easier because of his legal escapades. To be sure, he may have the most documentation available in Van Onselen's own South Africa. But it still borders on the unbelievable. After the conclusion, Van Onselen dedicates nearly another chapter in acknowledgements outlining how his research was possible. He attributes his success to divine intervention; but I suspect he is merely being modest. I see no evidence of forgery or fabrication in his data. Combined with his other accolades, I believe the research to be honest. I do have skepticism towards some of his characterization of Jewish societies (Max Hochstim Association, Warsaw Club, and American Club) as being pimp fraternities. Since the MHA was based in New York, it is reasonable to assume that there would be other sources covering such an organization; but no. Readers will need to follow his own citations - Freid's Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster, and Gilfoyle's City of Eros. Considering that he found so much on Silver, it is unfortunate that he never found conclusive evidence of Silver's demise.
Other reviewers have commented on the huge amount of incidental information in the book. Most comments argue there is too much description of each location and society that it overshadows the main story of Silver's travels. I believe the information is more useful to account for both his notoriety and his tendency to get caught. For all of his roguish qualities, Silver was a shrewd underworld operative, seeking new opportunities and proving his abilities. His ambition frequently led him into conflict with established underworld systems. Silver used his love-hate relationship with law enforcement to either create or exploit divisions within law and order. If he joined an established network as in New York or Buenos Aires, he quickly rose to prominence. But if he chose to compete against prevailing racketeers in a weak political climate, tension (and usually his arrest and deportation) followed. The incidental information accounts for his successes and failures.
Of course, all of this is cast aside when Van Onselen reveals his main thesis: Joseph Silver was Jack the Ripper. With no evidence, he makes this wild claim. It is as though a talented historian wrote a mammoth, and definitive, work on Richard Nixon, and then concluded in the last chapter that Nixon was the Zodiac Killer because Nixon probably was in California in the late 1960s....This chapter is based on incidental information and wild interpretations. The belief that Silver was the only misogynistic pimp in White Chapel in 1888 is beyond belief. Van Onselen's argument that Silver was plausibly "Joseph Isaacs," the mysterious lover of the last Ripper victim, is tenuous by the sheer fact that Van Onselen found no evidence that Silver had any connection with Gentile prostitutes. The evidence is not even circumstantial. A potential Ripper suspect....maybe....but no further murders similar to Ripper in any of Silver's future ports really argues against it.
Overall, it is a fascinating book. It does drone on. But it displays thorough research. Dedicated law enforcement authorities cannot track criminals as thoroughly in Twentieth Century America as Van Onselen does for Silver. Van Onselen relies on court documents and newspapers for much of the content. The Goddess Clio accounts for some specific documentation elsewhere. If readers are curious about Jack the Ripper - get a book on the Ripper. This book focuses on the Jewish white slave traffic.
February 9, 2012
I am the type of person who has to finish a book no matter how bad it is, but I just can't do it with this one. I give up! I thought it was going to be a book about a potential Jack the Ripper suspect, but I'm halfway through the book and so far there is no evidence that points to him being the ripper. This book is a biography of a narcissistic psycho, but I don't think he is the ripper. Plus, this guy moved around the world a lot and every time he moved somewhere new, the author spent 50 pages describing the new city/country, it's history and politics. Just not necessary! Ugh - I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders now that I don't have to finish this book.
September 26, 2017
This is a dense unpleasant book about an unpleasant person written in the style of a graduate student desperately padding his thesis with unimportant collateral information. Lost in this mountain of verbiage is an interesting story but, I was so worn out by the author's style that, in the end, I just didn't care.
May 12, 2025
Van Onselen never disappoints. This is social history at its finest, unfolding in a riveting narrative that places the life of Joseph Silver - who was almost certainly "Jack the Ripper" - firmly in the wide backdrop of the Atlantic World during a period of rapid and jarring industrialisation. From Russia-ruled Poland to London, New York, the Johannesburg gold fields, South West Africa during a genocide, and Argentina, Chile and Brazil - Silver's trajectory and treachery took him across the sweep of the Atlantic World which presented opportunities galore for a pimp and a thief. And during his initial London foray, the stage was set for a serial killer to ply his evil trade at a time at a time when popular culture was in the grip of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
In the case of "The Fox," Mr. Hyde was often hiding in plain view ...
In the case of "The Fox," Mr. Hyde was often hiding in plain view ...
January 1, 2019
The exhaustive research that went into this book is impressive but it's questionable if it was worth piecing together the life of such an insignificant, reprehensible man. In the end the only reason for publishing this tome is because Van Onselen believes Silver is Jack the Ripper but the evidence is circumstantial and not completely convincing. A lot of assumptions about his thoughts and motivations seemed to be unfounded to me.
The chapters on South Africa and German South West Africa were quite interesting to me because I haven't read much about these countries during this time. But there was far too much detail about Pittsburgh and New York, specifically the city's government and police force. And it was tiresome to start a new chapter and to realise you first had to wade through a detailed portrait of the new country Silver had travelled to before getting to the point of where he was and what he was doing.
The book did offer a lot of interesting information about the Jewish diaspora from Poland and Russia as well as the criminal underworld of the Atlantic, which I was unaware of, but there was just too much detail and I was glad to be finished with this slog of a book.
The chapters on South Africa and German South West Africa were quite interesting to me because I haven't read much about these countries during this time. But there was far too much detail about Pittsburgh and New York, specifically the city's government and police force. And it was tiresome to start a new chapter and to realise you first had to wade through a detailed portrait of the new country Silver had travelled to before getting to the point of where he was and what he was doing.
The book did offer a lot of interesting information about the Jewish diaspora from Poland and Russia as well as the criminal underworld of the Atlantic, which I was unaware of, but there was just too much detail and I was glad to be finished with this slog of a book.
July 22, 2025
VERY well-researched, however I got bogged down with the sheer plethora of details. There are a lot of twists and turns and a long list of venues at which the crimes occurred. Someone who is fascinated by details would enjoy this particular book.
January 14, 2023
Sooooo monotonous!!!
December 2, 2012
This is a huge doorstop of a book that I bought for £1 in a bargain chain. I'm interested in history, particularly that of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, and especially in history pertaining to women's experience, so this looked like a book I would enjoy.
I have to say, however, that after slogging away at it for what seems like forever, I'd only got a third of the way through the book and have now given up. It's a rare occurrence for me not to finish a book I've started.
I had a few problems with this one - the sheer, overwhelming amount of detail is probably my major issue. When writing history God (or the devil if you prefer) is in the detail - how much should the writer give? The reader needs enough so that they can gain an accurate picture of the era and the reality of living in it, but not so much that it becomes distracting. Unfortunately I that this book was very much in to "too much detail" camp - so much so that I couldn't really see the wood for the trees and felt that it lessened my interest in the individual at its centre.
My second issue was the leaps and connections the author makes, stating that his subject would have thought, felt or done something when we have no evidence that this would have been the case - we can assume, yes, but that's really not how these leaps are represented in the book. Again, I felt that this weakened the writer's argument and made me take the book less seriously.
My third issue lies with the subject of the book, Joseph Silver, who is not someone I wanted to spend time with - certainly not the amount of time it would have taken to read the whole book.
I therefore decided to stop reading it. There's no doubt that it is an astounding act of research to have been able to trace an individual who changed his name and persona so many times throughout the length of his life, but had the book whittled down the amount of background information and concentrated on a more focused, streamlined arc I would have been more likely to finish it.
I have to say, however, that after slogging away at it for what seems like forever, I'd only got a third of the way through the book and have now given up. It's a rare occurrence for me not to finish a book I've started.
I had a few problems with this one - the sheer, overwhelming amount of detail is probably my major issue. When writing history God (or the devil if you prefer) is in the detail - how much should the writer give? The reader needs enough so that they can gain an accurate picture of the era and the reality of living in it, but not so much that it becomes distracting. Unfortunately I that this book was very much in to "too much detail" camp - so much so that I couldn't really see the wood for the trees and felt that it lessened my interest in the individual at its centre.
My second issue was the leaps and connections the author makes, stating that his subject would have thought, felt or done something when we have no evidence that this would have been the case - we can assume, yes, but that's really not how these leaps are represented in the book. Again, I felt that this weakened the writer's argument and made me take the book less seriously.
My third issue lies with the subject of the book, Joseph Silver, who is not someone I wanted to spend time with - certainly not the amount of time it would have taken to read the whole book.
I therefore decided to stop reading it. There's no doubt that it is an astounding act of research to have been able to trace an individual who changed his name and persona so many times throughout the length of his life, but had the book whittled down the amount of background information and concentrated on a more focused, streamlined arc I would have been more likely to finish it.
July 2, 2019
This is one of the few books I could just not finish.
September 1, 2013
Personally I think the Jack the Ripper stuff is nonsense, but this is still a great book. Probably the most hostile biography of anybody I have ever read.
To be fair Joseph Silver was (apparently) an... "arsonist, bank robber, barber, bigamist, brothel-owner, burglar, confidence trickster, detective’s agent, gangster, horse-trader, hotelier, informer, jewel thief, merchant, pickpocket, pimp, policeman, rapist, restaurateur, safe-cracker, smuggler, sodomist, special agent, spy, storekeeper, trader, thief, widower, wigmaker and white slave trafficker"
To be fair Joseph Silver was (apparently) an... "arsonist, bank robber, barber, bigamist, brothel-owner, burglar, confidence trickster, detective’s agent, gangster, horse-trader, hotelier, informer, jewel thief, merchant, pickpocket, pimp, policeman, rapist, restaurateur, safe-cracker, smuggler, sodomist, special agent, spy, storekeeper, trader, thief, widower, wigmaker and white slave trafficker"
June 9, 2011
An interesting look into the psychopath 'Joseph Lis’ AKA ‘silver’ during the late 1800s and into the 20th century. An example of this mans behaviour was when he courted a young woman till, she was in love with him, he then took her to a place where he locked her up and repeatedly raped her, then turned her into a prostitute, whom he pimped out until she went crazy from the syphilis he gave her. Just one of many sociopathic instances that transpired over his time.
February 6, 2011
This was a great book for research on what it was like in certain cities and countries in 1880-1915 (London, Paris, New York, Argentine/Chile, South Africa). I'd recommend it as 5 star for those doing research, but only a one for reading, hence the 3 average I listed. I'm working on some Jack the Ripper storylines and the subject of this book, one Joseph Lis, is a potential suspect.
May 22, 2012
Another example of great material let down by poor writng and in this case very shoncky historigraphy. For instance, the fact that some barbers acted as homosexual prositutes was no reason to extrapolate that Silver was one during the years that he was a barber.
Lots of interesting material though and the description of sex trafficing gave me nightmares. So very cruel.
Lots of interesting material though and the description of sex trafficing gave me nightmares. So very cruel.
May 23, 2015
This guy was the biggest creep and it's such a relief at the end when he is shot as a spy. His crimes and life are detailed with as much light as is possible for this 'lifestyle' and it's a good warning of the type of people to avoid.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews