Alan M. Clark’s Jack the Ripper Victims Series is comprised of five novels, one for each of the canonical
victims of the murderer. These stories are not only meant to appeal to those interested in the horror that
was the Autumn of Terror, but also those interested in the struggles of women in the 19th century. They
are well-researched, fictional dramatic stories meant to help readers walk in the shoes of the victims and
give a sense of the world as each of the women may have experienced it. The timelines for the stories
run mostly concurrently, so it doesn’t matter in what order the books in the series are read. They are
simultaneously drama, mystery, thriller, historical fiction, and horror. They are novels concerning horror
that happened.
A Brutal Chill in August
The First Victim of Jack the Ripper
by Alan M. Clark
Genre: Crime Horror
Publisher: IFD Publishing
Publication Date: December 7, 2019
We all know about Jack the Ripper, the serial murderer who terrorized Whitechapel and confounded
police in 1888, but how much do we really know about his victims?
Pursued by one demon into the clutches of another, the ordinary life of Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols is made
extraordinary by horrible, inhuman circumstance. Jack the Ripper's first victim comes to life in this
sensitive and intimate fictionalized portrait, from humble beginnings, to building a family with an abusive
husband, her escape into poverty and the workhouse, alcoholism, and finally abandoned on the streets
of London where the Whitechapel Murderer found her.
With A Brutal Chill in August, Alan M. Clark gives readers an uncompromising and terrifying look at the
nearly forgotten human story behind one of the most sensational crimes in history. This is horror that
happened.
Amazon * Apple * Apple Audiobook * B&N * Kobo
Music Video
The song sung by the ghost that haunts Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols
Apologies to the Cat's Meat Man
The Second Victim of Jack the Ripper
Publication Date: June 9, 2017
This novel is part of the Jack the Ripper Victims Series. Each novel in the series is a stand-alone
story.
Annie Chapman led a hard, lower class life in filthy 19th century London. Late in life, circumstances and
and her choices led her to earn her crust by solicitation. After a bruising brawl with another woman over
money and a man, she lost her lodgings and found herself sleeping rough. That dangerous turn of
events delivered her into the hands of London's most notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper.
Contrasting her last week alive with the experiences of her earlier life, the author helps readers
understand how she might have made the decisions that put her in the wrong place at the wrong
time
Book Trailer
https://youtu.be/oDKsC9KJ3RI
Say Anything But Your Prayers
The Third Victim of Jack the Ripper
Publication Date: June 11, 2017
This novel is part of the Jack the Ripper Victims Series. Each novel in the series is a stand-alone
story.
An imaginative reconstruction of the life of Elizabeth Stride, the third victim of Jack the Ripper. The beast
of poverty and disease had stalked Elizabeth all her life, waiting for the right moment to take her down.
To survive, she listened to the two extremes within herself--Bess, the innocent child of hope, and Liza,
the cynical, hardbitten opportunist. While Bess paints rosy pictures of what lies ahead and Liza warns of
dangers everywhere, the beast, in the guise of a man offering something better, circles ever
closer.
Of Thimble and Threat
The Fourth Victim of Jack the Ripper
Publication Date: September 28, 2017
In Victorian London, the greatest city of the richest country in the world, the industrial revolution has
created a world of decadence and prosperity, but also one of unimaginable squalor and suffering. Filth,
decay, danger, sorrow, and death are ever-present in the streets. Catherine Eddowes is found murdered
gruesomely in the city's East End. When the police make their report, the only indicators of her life are
the possessions carried on her person, likely everything she owned in the world. In Of Thimble and
Threat, Alan M. Clark tells the heartbreaking story of Catherine Eddowes, the fourth victim of Jack the
Ripper, explaining the origin and acquisition of the items found with her at the time of her death,
chronicling her life from childhood to adulthood, motherhood, her descent into alcoholism, and finally her
death. Of Thimble and Threat is a story of the intense love between a mother and a child, a story of
poverty and loss, fierce independence, and unconquerable will. It is the devastating portrayal of a self-
perpetuated descent into Hell, a lucid view into the darkest parts of the human heart.
The Prostitute's Price
The Fifth Victim of Jack the Ripper
Publication Date: August 30, 2018
A novel that beats back our assumptions about the time of Jack the Ripper. Not the grim story of an
unfortunate drunken prostitute killed before her time, but one of a young woman alive with all the
emotional complexity of women today. Running from a man wanting her to pay for her crimes against his
brother, Mary Jane Kelly must recover a valuable hidden necklace and sell it to gain the funds to leave
London and start over elsewhere. Driven by powerful, if at times conflicting emotion, she runs the
dystopian labyrinth of the East End, and tries to sneak past the deadly menace that bars her exit.
Although THE PROSTITUTE'S PRICE is a standalone tale, and part of the Jack the Ripper Victims
Series, it is also a companion story to the novel, THE ASSASSIN'S COIN, by John Linwood Grant. The
gain a broader experience of each novel, read both.
Book Trailer
https://youtu.be/9h3V9kVL2Ko
Author and illustrator, Alan M. Clark grew up in Tennessee in a house full of bones and old medical
books. His awards include the World Fantasy Award and four Chesley Awards. He is the author of
seventeen books, including twelve novels, a couple of novellas, four collections of fiction, some of them
lavishly illustrated, and a nonfiction full-color book of his artwork. Mr. Clark's company, IFD Publishing,
has released 42 titles of various editions, including traditional books, both paperback and hardcover,
audio books, and ebooks by such authors as F. Paul Wilson, Elizabeth Engstrom, and Jeremy Robert
Johnson. Alan M. Clark and his wife, Melody, live in Oregon. www.alanmclark.com Visit his blog: https://ifdpublishing.com/blog
Quizzes
The
answers to the questions are bolded.
One
does not have to read the books to participate as all the answers
are part of history.
Quiz
for
Apologies to the Cat’s Meat Man:
Question
1:
How
old was Annie Chapman when she died?
Answer
1:
62
Answer
2:
17
Answer
3:
47
Answer
4:
36
Question
2:
In
what type of work did Annie Chapman
not
engage?
Answer
1:
Selling
flowers
Answer
2:
Prostitution
Answer
3:
Violin
maker
Answer
4:
Hawking
hand-made fabric products
Question
3:
What
did Annie Chapman’s death certificate say was the cause of her
death?
Answer
1:
Asphyxia
from strangulation
Answer
2:
Violent
injuries to throat and abdomen
Answer
3:
Infection
from a torn earlobe
Answer
4:
Fright
Question
4:
How
many children did Annie Chapman have?
Answer
1:
8
Answer
2:
12
Answer
3:
4
Answer
4:
1
Question
5:
What
sort of work did Annie Chapman’s husband, John, do?
Answer
1:
Coachman
and domestic servant
Answer
2:
Seaman
and dock worker
Answer
3:
Dipper
and cracksman
Answer
4:
Fisherman
and river pilot
Question
6:
What
injuries did Annie Chapman receive during a fight in the week before
her death?
Answer
1:
A
broken wrist
Answer
2:
A
bloody nose and a split lip
Answer
3:
An
earlobe torn when an earring was torn out
Answer
4:
A
black eye and bruises on her chest
Question
7:
In
the sequential order of canonical victims of Jack the Ripper, where
does Annie
Chapman fall?
Answer
1:
The
second
Answer
2:
The
tenth
Answer
3:
The
fourth
Answer
4:
The
third
Question
8:
What
was missing from among the possessions of Annie Chapman at the murder
scene?
Answer
1:
A
tooth comb
Answer
2:
Brass
rings
Answer
3:
Two
pills she’d folded into a scrap of an envelope earlier on the night
of her death
Answer
4:
Her
red and white striped stockings
Question
9:
Which
of the following did Dr. Phillips say of the condition of Chapman’s
body?
Answer
1:
The
body was terribly mutilated...the stiffness of the limbs was marked.
Answer
2:
The
injuries could have been inflicted by a bayonet or a sword of some
kind.
Answer
3:
The
muscular structures appeared as though an attempt had made to
separate the bones of the neck.
Answer
4:
Obviously
the work was that of an expert, in all probability a
surgeon.
Question
10:
Who
did Annie Chapman have a physical fight with in the week before her
death?
Answer
1:
Harry
the Hawker
Answer
2:
Eliza
Cooper
Answer
3:
Queen
Victoria
Answer
4:
Detective
Abberline
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