WHITECHAPEL: AUTUMN OF ERROR Book Review

Info

Written By: Ian Porter.

Published By: Matador.

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a physical copy of the book for the purpose of this review and for Random Things Tours for adding me to the blog tour.

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Overview

Whitechapel 1888; a killer is on the loose and the newspapers are ensuring the nation knows all about not just the crimes but the terrible living conditions in which they are being perpetrated.

Nashey, a tough, scary yet charismatic man of the night, whose mother had to prostitute herself when he was a boy, knows the identity of the killer but keeps it a secret. He believes the publicity generated by the murders is forcing the authorities to address the poverty and degradation in the area. He allows the killer to remain free (whilst ensuring no more women are attacked) so the unsolved murders continue to dominate the headlines. He meets Sookey, an eccentric middle-class slummer and civilising influence. The two of them share a mutual friend, Mary Kelly, a fiery young prostitute whose back-story tells of how she was reduced to such a life.

To fund his surveillance of the killer, Nashey agrees, against his better judgement, to assist an old adversary to commit a daring night robbery under the noses of the huge police presence in the area.

Is it too late for Nashey and Mary to correct their mistakes?

Overview taken from the official book press release.

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Review

We’ve all by now probably heard the story of Jack The Ripper and his hideous crimes that rocked 18th Century London, but we haven’t had an insight into the life of 18th Century London and the struggles that the people went through all at the same time of one of the spree of one of Britain’s worst murderers.

The other main characters in the story is Sookey and  Mary two fiery women trying to find their way through the hard streets in slightly different ways. Sookey a middle class woman looking at making what difference she can but is finding out that living in the gritty neighborhood of Whitechapel is harder than life should be. The link between these two is Mary, a woman of the streets much like many women of that era unfortunately the life of the streets is a greater pull than earning money the honest way which could well be minimal at best.

The story centres around a small nucleus of characters but the main focus is on Nashey, Sookey and Mary, Nashey is a battle toughened rogue that was born on the streets and lives his life on the streets making his way through the world the only way he knows how that’s through his mind and fists, his fists are his greatest weapon partner that with his expert criminal minds and you have the catalyst for a ruffian on these streets. But Nashey is a bit different for he has a heart and he wears it on his sleeve.

The story flows well and Ian Porter does a great job of painting a gritty scene that captures the readers mind and takes them deep into the streets of Whitechapel, the descriptive detail makes you almost feel the grime on the pages. The story takes a twist when Nashey witnesses an attack on a lady of the night by a strange mysterious figure, could this figure turn out to be The Ripper himself? Nashey makes it his life’s work to hunt for the truth leading him into pulling off one more job to help fund his search. Nashey will need to knock on a few doors and if needed knock a few heads, these questions need to be answered and fast.

The story is a path of discovery, of love and loss in an historically accurate story that will educate you in a way you probably have never been before, I’ve always been a fan of criminal history but this version of the Jack The Ripper story is probably one of the best I’ve read.

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Verdict-Out of 5 ⭐

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

EXCELLENT

I give Whitechapel Autumn of Error an excellent score of 5 ⭐ a very detailed, historically accurate journey into a dark world that you will find familiar but the story is told from a fresh angle. Will leave you with a new found interest in the Jack The Ripper story, I for one want to know more.

Whitechapel Autumn of Error is available now wherever good books are sold.

A note on the author

Ian Porter is a historian, lecturer, public speaker and walks guide.
He has a particular interest in women’s history and social history.
His novels are renowned for being extremely well researched and historically accurate.

Whitechapel Autumn of Error is a typically feminist, social history novel that brings the dark streets of the East End 1888 to life.
He has written several other novels including the highly acclaimed Suffragette Autumn Women’s Spring, set during the fight for the vote for women, and a Plague On Both Your Houses, set in both London & Berlin in 1918/19 during the final months of the Great War and the Spanish Flu.

Ian is getting on a bit (well, aged 69). His grandparents were young adults living in East London at the time of the Whitechapel Murders. 

This review is part of the Random Things Book Tour be sure to check out the others on the tour