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Rupert’s Year In Books

Rupert’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Rupert’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Adam McPhee

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391 books | 39 friends

Craig Rimmer

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Rupert Matthews

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February 2010

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Rupert Matthews's Blog

TALK - Plagues, Pandemics and Covid 19

Yesterday I have my talk on "Plagues, Pandemics and Covid-19" to a History Club in Sussex via Zoom.

This is - inevitably - a fairly grim talk but fascinating nonetheless. And in the end it has a message of hope to us all. Humanity has survived far worse diseases than Covid-19. Have a look at this map of the spread of the Black Death across Europe. Up to half the people in Europe were wiped ou

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Rupert Matthews’s books

Average rating: 3.75 · 2,977 ratings · 399 reviews · 370 distinct works • Similar authors

	Titanic: The Tragic Story of the Ill-Fated Ocean Liner 4.32 avg rating — 278 ratings — published 2011 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror: Life during the reign of Victorian London's most brutal killer 3.85 avg rating — 200 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stalingrad: The Battle that Shattered Hitler's Dream of World Domination 3.86 avg rating — 196 ratings — published 2012 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hitler : Military Commander 3.69 avg rating — 160 ratings — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror: Life During the Reign of Victorian London's Most Brutal Killer 3.78 avg rating — 154 ratings — published 2013 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Age of the Gladiators: Savagery & Spectacle in Ancient Rome 3.53 avg rating — 156 ratings — published 2004 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	You Wouldn't Want to Be a Mayan Soothsayer!: Fortunes You'd Rather Not Tell by Rupert Matthews (Goodreads Author), David Antram (Illustrator), David Salariya (Goodreads Author) (Created by) 3.94 avg rating — 119 ratings — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Alien Encounters 3.46 avg rating — 119 ratings — published 2007 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	You Wouldn't Want to Be a Chicago Gangster! by Rupert Matthews (Goodreads Author), David Salariya (Goodreads Author) (Creator), Mark Bergin (Illustrator) 3.85 avg rating — 92 ratings — published 2010 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sasquatch: True-Life Encounters with Legendary Ape-Men 3.66 avg rating — 93 ratings — published 2008 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Rupert Matthews rated a book really liked it wings of grace by Heather Mann (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this odd little book. It is part story, part recollecton, part history, part call to Faith in Christ. Along the way we meet a fascinating mix of characters - brave, cautious, charming, bold but always full of faith in Christ. Winston Church ...more
Dec 31, 2025 06:14AM · like · see review
Rupert Matthews rated a book really liked it The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It is a long time since I read anything by Frederick Forsyth, so i was not really certain what to expect here. As it turns out, this was a gripping thriller of a book. As with "The Day of the Jackal" there is a lot of process in the book and not a hu ...more
Dec 30, 2025 10:01AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rupert Matthews rated a book liked it Ocean: A History of the Atlantic Before Columbus by John Haywood	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is a fascinating book. At first I thought the subject a bit uninspiring, but I soon got into the story of the Atlantic Ocean - its animals, currents, climate and weather. Then the humans appear and it really begins to get going. I knew next to n ...more
Dec 14, 2025 11:51AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Ocean by John Haywood. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Ocean by John Haywood <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rupert Matthews rated a book it was amazing Those in Peril (Hector Cross, #1) by Wilbur Smith	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A great adventure story. Or rather two stories as it is very much a book in two parts - almost two books which feature the same characters. This book is all action and all go. There is barely time to catch your breath between chases, fights or busine ...more
Oct 16, 2025 10:18AM · like · see review
Rupert Matthews rated a book really liked it Murder Takes Flight: A 1930s Historical Mystery (Lisette Darling Golden Age Mysteries) by Colette Clark (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
OK - so whodunnits are not really my thing, but this was cheap in a charity shop so I thought I'd give it a go. True to form I was unable to work out the murderer. As is the way with these things the plot was hideously complicated and every person in ...more
Oct 14, 2025 10:40AM · like · see review
Rupert Matthews rated a book really liked it Silverview by John le Carré	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I quite enjoyed this book once it got going, but it was awfully slow about it. For most of the book you wouldn't have known that it was a spy thriller except for the author's name. It seemed to be about a city trader who had threw in his high-pressur ...more
Oct 08, 2025 07:38AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Silverview by John le Carré. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Silverview by John le Carré <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rupert Matthews rated a book really liked it HarperCollins An Eye for an Eye (William Warwick Novels). by Jeffrey Archer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The sequel to Traitor's Gate that I read a few weeks ago. As ever, Archer delivers a cracking story with plenty of twists and turns - some more credible than others. This book has a more complicated plot than the earlier book. Maybe that is why I did ...more
Sep 29, 2025 07:27AM · like · see review
Rupert Matthews rated a book really liked it Policeman's progress (Fontana paperbacks) by Harry Cole	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
More a collection of anecdotes than a book, this is nevertheless very readable, enjoyable and interesting. Set mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, this book follows the adventures, mishaps and disasters that befall a beat officer in south London. Some eve ...more
Sep 20, 2025 10:35AM · like · see review
Rupert Matthews rated a book it was amazing HarperCollins Traitors Gate (William Warwick Novels). by Jeffrey Archer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I bought this book in France. It was getting near the end of our holiday and I'd read all the books that I had bought with me. I didn't fancy my teenage daughter's reading fare so was at a bit of a loose end. Then - glory be - a French bookshop had a ...more
Sep 07, 2025 08:12AM · like · see review
Rupert Matthews rated a book did not like it How They Broke Britain by James O'Brien	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
oh dear. If you are irredeemably woke and left wing fan of Jeremy Corbyn who has been on Just Stop Oil protests and campaigns against Sir Keir Starmer as you view him as far too right wing then I guess this is the book for you. Otherwise, forget it. I ...more
Sep 07, 2025 06:42AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How They Broke Britain by James O'Brien. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How They Broke Britain by James O'Brien <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Rupert Matthews (?)

“Outsiders might mistake the East Enders habit of dealing with their own issues as being criminal, but to the local inhabitants it was more a case of keeping things out of the hands of the authorities.”
― Rupert Matthews, Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror: Life during the reign of Victorian London's most brutal killer

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“Murder, even an accidental killing in a fight, was not only frowned upoп but was rare. In 1887 there was only one murder in Whitechapel, and in 1889 none at all. So while violence was common and widespread, killing was not.”
― Rupert Matthews, Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror: Life during the reign of Victorian London's most brutal killer

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“It is not the number of victims that Jack the Ripper claimed that ensure his lasting fame. Only five women were definitely killed by him, and certainly there were no more than eight victims. Other serial killers since then have murdered more. And although the horrific mutilations Jack the Ripper carried out were disturbing and violent, they too have been surpassed since. In the records of serial killers, Jack the Ripper is unexceptional in many ways. But he remains the most famous of them all.”
― Rupert Matthews, Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror

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