Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Autobiography of Jack the Ripper cover art

The Autobiography of Jack the Ripper

By: James Carnac
Narrated by: Mark Meadows, Christian Rodska
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Mammoth Book of the Jack the Ripper cover art
Great and Horrible News cover art
Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard's Prime Suspect cover art
Who Was Jack the Ripper? cover art
Jack the Ripper cover art
The Man Who Would Be Jack cover art
Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror cover art
I Was Jack the Ripper cover art
The Ultimate Serial Killer Collection cover art
Murder in the Stacks cover art
The Big Book of Espionage cover art
A Mortal Bane cover art
In Cold Blood cover art
The Ultimate Sherlock Holmes Collection cover art
Zodiac cover art
The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes cover art

Summary

This memoir was recently discovered and appears to have been written in the 1920s by someone who asserts that he was Jack the Ripper. This person is James Willoughby Carnac, and this memoir was written shortly before his death. It is an account of his entire life, including a few short months in 1888 when he became the murderer known to posterity as Jack the Ripper.

This book introduces a new suspect for the infamous murders in Whitechapel in 1888. There is information here that does not appear to be derived from contemporary newspapers or any other publications, and the descriptions of Tottenham in the 1870s, the visits to performances of Jekyll and Hyde, and the intricate geography of Whitechapel in 1888 are written with pin-point accuracy.

There is also a credible motive given for James becoming the murderer Jack, and also a reason for the end of the murders. Given the fact that the author also appeared to have knowledge about aspects of the case not in the public arena at the time, it could be that this actually is the autobiography of Jack the Ripper. Ultimately, it is up to the listeners to decide if they believe the mystery has been solved at last, but even if they end up deciding the account to be a work of fiction, it would still be one of the very earliest imaginings of the Ripper case, written in the early years of the 20th century, a fascinating piece of period writing and a worthy addition to the Ripper canon. Whatever side listeners come down on, there is no question that this book will be a source of much debate.

©2012 Random House AudioGo (P)2012 Random House AudioGo

What listeners say about The Autobiography of Jack the Ripper

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    17
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!

I loved this book. The narration is wonderful with Christian Rodska perfect as Carnac. He nails every barbed comment and sly remark without ever falling into cartoon villainy. The story itself is obviously dark but never focuses on the gruesome acts in detail.

Whether Carnac was actually Jack The Ripper is highly debatable and I treated this as a work of fiction going in but I have to say there are a few details that get you wondering if it might not be real. Even the things he gets wrong are wrong in the 'right' way, giving it a feeling of misremembered authenticity rather than the more predictable shopping list of facts that would be added by a knowing trickster.

The Third Act is strange - with various elements clumsily telegraphed in the writing for a set up later that seems at odds with the style of the rest of the book. Acclaimed Ripperoligist Paul Begg details all of this brilliantly in his summation at the end.

Whether real or fake, or part real/part fake it's fascinating and unusual. Highly recommended for anyone with even a slight interest in these crimes and the era in which they were committed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth a listen.

Great performance and very well read, it's certainly food for thought I guess we'll never know.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

waste of time

Just a load of rubbish very boring rambling on and on and getting nowhere
it is all explained in chapter 29 so skip the first 28

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

A bit weak!

It seems like they're scraping around for contents with this book. The story is a little thin on the ground.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

You must listen

I love this book! It's written well and very interesting. I've listened to it four times. Jack The Ripper or not I'm here for it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting though complete fiction of course

Firstly worth mentioning that the last part (of 3) is not the narrator but a very poor indeed random narration . This last part is clearly bolted on and appears to have been penned by a “ ripperologist” and is disappointing in attempting to give it credence . The story itself is well read but very evasive and no better than a moderate attempt of a “ found papers diary”

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!