In Research Of

Jeb and Blake crawl through the cobbled streets of 1978 television to find out what was going on when IN SEARCH OF went looking for Jack the Ripper.  A lot of this episode is about "The Royal Conspiracy" - the idea that Prince Albert Victor (aka "Prince Eddy") was secretly Jack the Ripper.   This was largely derived from a book called Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution, an ironic title since it turned out to be neither final nor the solution.  This was written by Stephen Knight, who appears in the episode. Shortly after this he will develop brain cancer and pass away. The story also involves Prince Albert Victor's surgeon, Dr. William Gull.  We discuss the "modern plague" of Gin in London at the time. (That link is to the Pub Map.) Alert listener Dr. David Cockcroft sent us a link to the 1886 London Poverty Maps of Charles Booth. It's a treasure trove of information contemporary to the time of this case (and the upcoming Sherlock Holmes episode as well). Nimoy Fashion Alert! Did you notice that big book ly