The Jack the Ripper Dossier.
This is the eighth episode of Richard Walker’s new, weekly podcast series on Jack the Ripper.
It introduces us to the second “canonical” victim – Annie Chapman.*
Fast forwarding for a moment…
The body was discovered in a yard behind number 29 Hanbury Street just 8 days after the murder of Polly Nicholas in Buck’s Row.
The murder appeared to have been committed by the same killer who murdered Polly Nichols.
And now rewinding…
Annie Chapman grew up in Kensington and Windsor. A very different world to the world of Whitechapel where her life was ended.
Life might have been very different if Annie had not been an alcoholic…
Yes, that’s the curtain line for this episode.
And for a peroration…
In sum, why are we here? Why has Richard created this series? Why listen to it (apart from its intrinsic interest, I mean)? Because to see these women as real people – see their backstory, see them in the fullness of their lives – rather than as just sensationalist, one-dimensional, cardboard cutouts – “down-and-out-prostitutes” – is to win through to a much deeper appreciation and understanding of that epochal chapter in the London story. Basically, going there with Richard – hearing the stories he has to tell, seeing the Jack the Ripper story with his eyes – makes for a much richer experience.
Richard Walker is the actor, adventurer (he sailed across the Pacific in a tiny two-man skiff) and veteran, high-powered guide who’s created a new version of the Ripper Walk. His walk is called Jack the Ripper’s Whitechapel. It’s an exclusive VIP Ripper walk (it’s a guaranteed small group tour – the numbers are strictly limited).
*N.B. Richard’s “biography” of Annie Champman will run to several brief episodes. This podcast is the first part. It gets the Annie Chapman story underway.