Catherine Eddowes: Jack the Ripper Victim
Neal Shelden.
Privately published, 2003. 48pp, illustrated.
ISBN 0953769135.
Casebook Review: 
Neal Shelden has fast become Ripperology's resident guru when it comes to
the victims of Jack the Ripper. This is his third such publication, after
Jack the Ripper and His Victims (1999) and Annie Chapman: Jack
the Ripper Victim. A Short Biography (2001). Whereas most Ripper
books tend to focus on the circumstances of their deaths, Neal focuses
instead on these women's lives, families and descendants. As such, his
books are a goldmine of information for those who wish to delve into the
more human aspects of the Whitechapel tragedies.
This latest offering concerns itself almost exclusively with Catherine
Eddowes, the Ripper's fourth canonical victim. A comprehensive timeline
of events in Catherine's life - from her birth in Wolverhampton in 1842,
to her tragic death in Mitre Square in 1888 - forms the majority of the
booklet. From there the timeline continues through the life of her
daughter, Annie Phillips (nee Conway), from 1889 through 1942.
Photographs are included of Catherine's great granddaughter, Catherine
Sarah Hall. Although the only likenesses we have of Catherine Eddowes
show a face mutilated nearly beyond recognition, more than a few people
have commented on the eerie resemblance between Catherine Hall and her
more well-known ancestor.
Other chapters are included as well. The first, entitled "The People Who
Knew Mary Jane Kelly," offers information on "Morganstone", Mrs. Carthy,
George Hutchinson and John McCarthy. Shelden offers up some interesting
genealogical research on each and corrects several errors recently
published by other authors. Another chapter, "Ripper Victim Research"
provides updates on new information recently discovered about Emma Smith,
Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman and Elizabeth Stride. The book ends with
a chapter on the three victims of Ripper suspect Severin Klosowski: Mary
Spink, Bessie Taylor and Maud Marsh.
Like Neal's previous work, this booklet is not intended for the general
Ripper audience. But those with a decided interest in the lives and
descendants of the Ripper's victims will greedily devour every page for
the details found within.
