Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror Quotes

“The policemen who had the unenviable job of trying to track down Jack the Ripper were not as helpless as may be supposed. The Met of the 1880s had a good record of solving crimes and bringing culprits to justice. But then they were used to crimes such as the murder of a work colleague or a family member for reasons such as greed, a private grudge or jealousy. With Jack the Ripper they would be dealing with something new and infinitely more terrible: the world's first serial killer”
― Rupert Matthews, Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror: Life during the reign of Victorian London's most brutal killer

“East Enders famously dealt with their own problems, with local men of influence ordering beatings to be administered to those who misbehaved But the police were far more integrated into the local community then than is the case today. Few people in 2 1st-century London could name a policeman, but in 1888 everyone could.”
― Rupert Matthews, Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror: Life during the reign of Victorian London's most brutal killer

“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

“Some found in drinking a release from the daily grind of work and poverty, others simply enjoyed getting drunk and still others were addicted to alcohol.”
― Rupert Matthews, Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror: Life during the reign of Victorian London's most brutal killer

“Drink was a real problem in Whitechapel in the 1880s, but many saw it as being as much a symptom as a cause of the social ills of the East End of London.”
― Rupert Matthews, Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror: Life during the reign of Victorian London's most brutal killer

“London became a city of horrors, terrors and victims, all dancing to a macabre tune set by a faceless murderer. It became the hunting ground of Jack the Ripper”
― Rupert Matthews, Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror: Life during the reign of Victorian London's most brutal killer

“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

“Indeed, far more than today the East End was a society that lived its life out of doors. With no radio, television or internet to keep people occupied at home they would go out to chat to neighbours, take a walk or visit Pubs and clubs. At any hour of day or night there were a lot more People walking about Whitechapel in 1888 than is the case now.”
― Rupert Matthews, Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror: Life during the reign of Victorian London's most brutal killer

“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