Ripper Hunter: Abberline and the Whitechapel Murders by M.J. Trow (Pen and Sword, 2012); audiobook read by Terry Wale (Soundings, 2013) An ambitious attempt to biographize Inspector Frederick Abberline – a prominent figure in Jack the Ripper fiction but about whom, factually, very little is known. In telling the (quite interesting) history of Abberline’s times, Trow contextualises and thence mostly…
Tag: Whitechapel
Ripper Street, Series 3
Ripper Street, Series 3 by Richard Warlow (BBC, 2014) By season three the character arcs have begun to fray from rubbing against the edge of credulity; yet Ripper Street continues also to tell self-contained stories and, through its depiction of Whitechapel society and the articulate discourse between protagonists, retains its appeal.
Ripper Street, Series 2
Ripper Street, Series 2 by Richard Warlow (BBC, 2013) The BBC has long held a reputation for outstanding period drama, and Ripper Street only enhances this, situating its likeable, flawed characters deep within the Whitechapel of 1890: an exquisite study in grime, crime and iniquity, with bursts of hope and colour.
Whitechapel, Series 1
Whitechapel, Series 1 (ITV, 2009) Unfortunately, everything about this police drama seems forced: from the premise (a modern-day killer perfectly re-enacting the Ripper murders) to the strained dynamic between lead characters (thirty-nine stab wounds is dismissed as too specific, then coincidental) and even the gritty would-be stylisation.
42 Word Review: Ripper Street, Series 1 by Richard Warlow
Ripper Street, Series 1 Richard Warlow (BBC, 2012-2013) With its focus on character development over contrived plot arcs, grittily realised period crime drama Ripper Street exemplifies the advantage that small-run British series enjoy over their distended American counterparts. Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn and Adam Rothenberg are compelling in policing Whitechapel.