Author: R.J. Palmer
Friday, 19 May 2000 - 04:53 am |        |
I found the following item in The Illustrated London News, 13 October 1888:
"What adds a grain of disgust to the mountain of horror excited by these crimes, is that, even if the wretch be caught, he will probably found to be mad, and therefore will cheat the gallows. (If not mad, by-the-by, I wonder what the anti-punishment-of-death gentleman will say to him? It will be rather a crucial test of "abolitionist" opinion.) Curiously enough, in the only case that can be said to be any sort of parallel to it, that of Renwick Williams (nicknamed "The Monster"), the criminal also escaped justice. He went about with a large knife slashing women--not only, however, in poor neighborhoods like Whitechapel--and produced a panic in the whole sex. Being at last caught in the very act, in St. Jame s's street, he was tried on a number of charges; but, though capitally convicted, only suffered, for reasons best known to Father Antic the Law, two years imprisonment for three of them."
Does anyone know the details of Renwick Williams' crimes or where I might be able to find out more?
Thanks for any help,
RJP |
Author: Christopher-Michael DiGrazia
Friday, 19 May 2000 - 04:31 pm | |
RJ -
Renwick Williams was a fellow who, as the story points out, in 1788 went about London slashing at women's bottoms with a knife. For this, he was known as "The Monster" and received an enormous amount of press coverage for those times.
I don't know where you can find out more about him; the meagre details I have given can be found in either Melvin Harris' "The Ripper File" or in the addenda to the Moore/Campbell graphic novel "From Hell."
If I can find further details over the weekend, I shall post them.
CMD |
Author: Lisa Muir
Saturday, 20 May 2000 - 12:08 am | |
| R.J. - Search Alta Vista for "Renwick Williams" and you'll get a link to the University of Texas Law School. There you will find a bit more information on him. - Lisa |
Author: R.J. Palmer
Saturday, 20 May 2000 - 09:25 am | |
Hello Christopher-Michael,
Hello Lisa,
Many thanks for clearing up the identity of this strange fellow, Renwick Williams.
I feel I owe a debt to the many helpful regulars in the Casebook.
I've been slowly sifting through all the 1888-1889 periodicals in my university's library, and have been finding a few items of peripheral interest from time to time. Oddly, the majority of them so far have been about Sir Charles Warren and his bloodhounds Barnaby and Burgho. These, and a couple of diatribes by someone called the Rev. Samuel Barnett about the woeful conditions in Whitechapel. I'll post if I find anything out of the ordinary.
Thanks again,
RJP |
Author: Jeff Bloomfield
Saturday, 17 February 2001 - 12:41 pm | |
In today's New York Times Book Review Section,
on page 20, a new book of Non-fiction:
THE LONDON MONSTER, A SANGUINARY TALE
by Jan Bondeson
University of Pennsylvania, $29.95
It is all about Rhynwick Williams (whose name
is Welsh, by the way).
Jeff Bloomfield |
Author: Stephen P. Ryder
Saturday, 17 February 2001 - 02:15 pm | |
Hi Jeff -
Funny you should mention that book, I just got my copy by post yesterday and spent half the night reading it ... literally couldn't put it down until I was finished.
I'm putting together a full review of the book and will post it here once completed - in the meantime let me say that it is very highly recommended, and the parallels the author draws with the Ripper crimes are very interesting.
It is available from Amazon.com at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0812235762/casebookjackth01A/
Available in paperback from Amazon.co.uk at http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1853435260/casebojacktherip |
Author: Paul Begg
Saturday, 17 February 2001 - 03:01 pm | |
| It is indeed a fascinating story. We reviewed it in "Ripperologist" a few issues ago and also carried an article by the author of the book, Jan Bondeson. The moral - subscribe to Ripperologist, no self-respecting Ripperphile can afford not to!!! |
Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Monday, 19 February 2001 - 03:52 am | |
Hubby got me this one for Christmas, without knowing about the Ripperologist review - I must get around to reading it soon - the book, I mean! How do all you guys find the time? That's the biggest mystery to me. :-)
Paul, are you telling us there are still people reading the Casebook who don't yet subscribe to Ripperologist - this London monster of a ripper mag?? I can hardly believe it.
Love,
Caz |
Author: Paul Begg
Monday, 19 February 2001 - 07:44 am | |
| Amazing isn't it... But I think there are a few isolated pockets of non-subscribers here! |
