James Maybrick

[Jericho]

Thanks, Chris.

Is the trial at the Cricket Club by invitation only? It sounds fun, tongue in cheek? Are tickets available?

I really like some of the dustjacket quotations accompanying The Ripper Diary: The Inside Story

Objectivity requires taking subjectivity into account."
- Lorraine Code (That name has GOT to be made up)

Sometimes we remain true to a cause simply because its opponents are unfailingly tasteless."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

"What a long, strange trip its been."
- The Grateful Dead (Maybe Jerry Garcia is communing with Maybrick as we speak?)

Dogs got personality. Personality goes a long way"- Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction)

It's all darkly compelling!

[ChrisGeorge]

Thanks, Chris.

Is the trial at the Cricket Club by invitation only? It sounds fun, tongue in cheek? Are tickets available?

I really like some of the dustjacket quotations accompanying The Ripper Diary: The Inside Story

Objectivity requires taking subjectivity into account."
- Lorraine Code (That name has GOT to be made up)

Sometimes we remain true to a cause simply because its opponents are unfailingly tasteless."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

"What a long, strange trip its been."
- The Grateful Dead (Maybe Jerry Garcia is communing with Maybrick as we speak?)

Dogs got personality. Personality goes a long way"- Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction)

It's all darkly compelling!

Hi Jericho

It should be a fun weekend and it is open to the public. The price is £38 for the weekend without added activities. Venue: Liverpool Cricket Club, 19–20 May 2007. Call: Chris Jones, 07932 642344 or email c.jones@gateacre.liverpool.sch.uk. Cheques should be made payable to the ‘Liverpool Cricket Club’ and sent to Mr Jones at Chris Jones, 27 Maidstone Close, Halewood, Merseyside, L25 9GG, UK. According to Mr Jones, ‘On the Friday night (18th May) there will be a coach tour of the Maybricks’ Liverpool on vintage coaches (one dates from 1945). It will leave the Cricket Club at 6:30pm visiting, Aigburth, Grassendale, Liverpool City Centre and Anfield Cemetery (where James is buried). The coaches return to the club at 8:30pm. The tour is followed by a band/social event in club. Places on the tour are limited to 120. There is an extra cost of £5 for the tour - all money to a local charity. On Saturday lunchtime there will be a special display of the Maybrick watch and Albert Johnson, the owner of the watch, will be available to answer questions. On Saturday night, Jeremy Beadle will run a fun quiz night. All money raised will go to charity. On Sunday lunchtime there will be a visit to the grounds of Battlecrease House, James and Florence [Maybrick]’s home. Paul Dodd the current owner of the house will be available to answer questions.’

Chris

[Jericho]

Thanks, Chris. I'm tempted - although I might give Jeremy Beadle a miss!

[ChrisGeorge]

Here's the latest on the Maybrick event upcoming in May as posted by organizer Chris Jones on Casebook: Jack the Ripper:

Maybrick Trial Programme is Finalised

The programme for the Trial of James Maybrick at Liverpool Cricket club in May 2007 has been finalised. James was a former member of the Cricket Club in the 1880s. The event is fully supported by the Liverpool European Capital of Culture 08 Company and it could prove to be one of their biggest events in 2007. Tickets for the event have been sold worldwide.

The final programme is very similar to the one printed at the start of this thread. The main change is that Mike Barrett has been provided with an opportunity to speak before Shirley Harrison. He is of course is the man who discovered the Diary and brought it to the attention of the world. He is a very controversial figure who has changed his story about events surrounding the diary on more than one occasion. However, he has promised to tell the full and completely truthful story of how he came into possession of the diary and how valid he feels the document to be.

Giving evidence at the event will be some of the top Maybrick experts and Ripperologists. They include Shirley Harrison, author of the controversial book, The Diary of Jack the Ripper, and Professor David Canter, the highly respected Head of the Department of Investigative Psychology at Liverpool University. Paul Begg and Donald Rumbelow will be leading the attack on the Diary as a historical document and James being a realistic suspect for the Ripper murders. There will be opportunites for people from the audience to question all the speakers. We want a full and honest debate. All who attend the event will form the jury.

Attending the Trial will also be many of the descendents of the people who were actually involved in events surrounding the Maybricks in the 1880s, including some of James Maybrick’s descendents. We also have direct descendents of Gerald Brierley (Florence's lover), Nurse Yapp and Florence's lawyers. We are hoping that the details of Florence's Will (which has never been published) will be made available for people attending the Trial. I'm told there could be some shocks in store when it sees the light of day!!!

Interest in the Trial is especially great in the United States as Florence Maybrick, James’ wife, was an American citizen and she remains today the only American woman ever to be charged with murder in this country. William Friedkin, the famous Hollywood Director of films such as The Exorcist and the French Connection, is to visit Liverpool next year to attend the Trial of James Maybrick. Friedkin is attending the trial as he is planning to make a film about Florence’s life story.

The Trial is to be preceded on the Friday night by a tour of sites in Liverpool associated with James and Florence Maybrick. The tour will include his former homes in Aigburth, the city centre, where he also lived and worked and his grave in Anfield Cemetery. A highlight of the tour will be a visit to St. George’s Hall, the scene of Florence’s infamous trial for the murder of James. To make the tour even more enjoyable it will take place on vintage coaches.

There are also two lunchtimes sessions. On Saturday Albert Johnson will be present with the 'Maybrick Watch'. On Sunday there will be a visit to Battlecrease House, James and Florence's home.

Tickets for the two-day event are still available, priced £38. Further details of the trial can be obtained from Chris Jones, the event organiser at the Liverpool Cricket Club. We are confident that the truth about James Maybrick will finally emerge. James will either be vindicated or he could be identified as one of the most notorious serial killers in history.

I can be contacted on 07932-642344 or e-mail:
c.jones@gateacre.liverpool.sch.uk

Hope to see at least some of you. Liverpool is a great city.

Chris Jones

[TonyMay]

Hi Everyone,

Wow, you have all 'written well' since my last visit!

Thanks Chris for the link to 'The Hunt For Jack The Ripper' I will enjoy digesting that when I get the chance and post a bit of feedback here when I have. I am getting more and more upset though at not being able to attend the trial of James Maybrick in May. The itinerary sounds positively mouthwatering and I just know I would get to meet some really interesting people. As for the appearance of Michael Barrett it will be interesting to see just what he actually say's this time. I do feel very sorry for the poor chap in a way because (as I don't think that he did forge the diary) the whole diary thing for him must have be a nightmare. A nightmare no doubt that he now feels so entangled within that he just dosen't know how to make it all stop. Does anyone know whether any of the event is going to be filmed?
I for one would pay handsomely for footage of the event and I'm sure there would be a market for it in this day of DVD.
I'd like to ask Jericho just why he is so sure that the diary is a fake? To say that he wonders why anyone has given the diary the time of day is a bold statement but one that to my mind shows him to lack an open mind from the outset on the subject. Please understand however that when I say this I do not mean to criticise Jericho simply to question him. Maybe you could respond to this and explain your side of the story?
Finally maybe Chris could help us all out again with this one. I believe Chris that Trevor Christie the author of 'Etched In Arsenic' left behind a lot of additional material/notes from his research at the time. Do you know whether any researcher has ever gone through a lot of this extra stuff and if so what it was found to contain?

That's all for now,

All the best.

Tony.

[Jericho]

Hi Everyone,

Wow, you have all 'written well' since my last visit!

Thanks Chris for the link to 'The Hunt For Jack The Ripper' I will enjoy digesting that when I get the chance and post a bit of feedback here when I have. I am getting more and more upset though at not being able to attend the trial of James Maybrick in May. The itinerary sounds positively mouthwatering and I just know I would get to meet some really interesting people. As for the appearance of Michael Barrett it will be interesting to see just what he actually say's this time. I do feel very sorry for the poor chap in a way because (as I don't think that he did forge the diary) the whole diary thing for him must have be a nightmare. A nightmare no doubt that he now feels so entangled within that he just dosen't know how to make it all stop. Does anyone know whether any of the event is going to be filmed?
I for one would pay handsomely for footage of the event and I'm sure there would be a market for it in this day of DVD.
I'd like to ask Jericho just why he is so sure that the diary is a fake? To say that he wonders why anyone has given the diary the time of day is a bold statement but one that to my mind shows him to lack an open mind from the outset on the subject. Please understand however that when I say this I do not mean to criticise Jericho simply to question him. Maybe you could respond to this and explain your side of the story?
Finally maybe Chris could help us all out again with this one. I believe Chris that Trevor Christie the author of 'Etched In Arsenic' left behind a lot of additional material/notes from his research at the time. Do you know whether any researcher has ever gone through a lot of this extra stuff and if so what it was found to contain?

That's all for now,

All the best.

Tony.

Hi Tony,

I'll do my best.

My main concerns are:

(1) Barrett has said it was a scam (and subsequently retracted, and then...) I guess we'll gain a better idea after his 'trial' sorry, speech, at the cricket club in May. I hope to be there and I hope I get the opportunity to speak to him.

(2) Historical inaccuracies in the text. Too much slippage between modern Liverpool and Maybrick's Liverpool. The 'tone' of the 'diary' doesn't feel right for the time - again it seems too modern. Like a BBC update of one of Jane Austen's novels - the sensibility is all wrong. Of course, this is my subjective response, and it's only to the diary.

I still think Maybrick is a strong candidate.

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Tony,

I'll do my best.

My main concerns are:

(1) Barrett has said it was a scam (and subsequently retracted, and then...) I guess we'll gain a better idea after his 'trial' sorry, speech, at the cricket club in May. I hope to be there and I hope I get the opportunity to speak to him.

(2) Historical inaccuracies in the text. Too much slippage between modern Liverpool and Maybrick's Liverpool. Like a BBC update of one of Jane Austen's novels - the sensibility is all wrong. Of course, this is my subjective response, and it's only to the diary.

I still think Maybrick is a strong candidate.

Hello Jericho

I find it very interesting that although you believe in James Maybrick's candidacy as Jack the Ripper that you don't feel comfortable with the Diary. That as you say, "The 'tone' of the 'diary' doesn't feel right for the time - again it seems too modern."

I have to concur with this feeling. I have been a consistent of the opponent of the Diary from the beginning and I have to say that there is a lot about it that simply feels contrived and artificial.

All the best

Chris

[Jericho]

Hello Jericho

I find it very interesting that although you believe in James Maybrick's candidacy as Jack the Ripper that you don't feel comfortable with the Diary.

It's purely intuitive (whimsical). The diary sets forth a series of coincidences (regardless of who wrote it) that whet my appetite. The more I think about it, the more I get the feeling that there's more than a little something of the dark and deadly night about Maybrick.

[ChrisGeorge]

It's purely intuitive (whimsical). The diary sets forth a series of coincidences (regardless of who wrote it) that whet my appetite. The more I think about it, the more I get the feeling that there's more than a little something of the dark and deadly night about Maybrick.

Hi, Jericho

Well, the Diary makes him look that way. But is it a reflection of the real-life James Maybrick? I am not alone in thinking that the Diary might blacken the name of an innocent man.

Certainly to the extent that he was a man who was an addict addicted to arsenic and strychnine and that he kept a mistress even after he married Florie he seems to have led a double life. I wonder though whether that double life meant he could have been Jack?

I believe Tom Slemen has pointed out that Maybrick was a hypochondriac and may have been repelled by the sight of blood, so I have to wonder as does Tom whether Maybrick had the stomach to do those bloody murders.

All the best

Chris

[Jericho]

Hi, Jericho

Well, the Diary makes him look that way. But is it a reflection of the real-life James Maybrick? I am not alone in thinking that the Diary might blacken the name of an innocent man.
Certainly to the extent that he was a man who was an addict addicted to arsenic and strychnine and that he kept a mistress even after he married Florie he seems to have led a double life. I wonder though whether that double life meant he could have been Jack?

I believe Tom Slemen has pointed out that Maybrick was a hypochondriac and may have been repelled by the sight of blood, so I have to wonder as does Tom whether Maybrick had the stomach to do those bloody murders.

All the best

Chris

Presumably the concern about blackening the name of an innocent man applies to most if not all of the contenders? Why feel any more tender hearted about Maybrick than some of the others?

His duplicity is beyond a shadow of a doubt. Like most serial killers, what appears on the surface cloaks what scratches away underneath. I bet to his doctor he did indeed seem repelled by the sight of blood.

I wonder why.

Maybe he found it difficult to contain the emotions the red stuff stirred in him? Once it's spilt ...

[Jericho]

I hope you realise that the above is said with tongue firmly in cheek but still able to do this

[TonyMay]

Hi All,

Firstly can I say thank you to Jericho for his response to my request for further info on just why he feels/felt able to dismiss the diary so quickly. Like Chris however I do find it strange to hear you say that you still believe Maybrick could be a strong candidate in light of the reasons you have given for dismissing the diary. As far as I can see, if you accept that Michael Barrett (or anyone else for that matter) forged the diary then there really cannot be any other reason to suspect that James had anything to do with the murders whatsoever. He was not connected to the enquiry at the time, and had not even been thought of as a suspect until the diary came to light so, in fairness to him, If we believe the diary to be a fake I think we should all acknowledge his innocence. Once again Jericho please do not take these comments of mine the wrong way, I do not intend to 'have a go' at you or decry your opinion but am simply responding to what you've said in an honest way.
You (and Chris) both mentioned the Poste House discrepancy in the diary. I accept that this is indeed a genuine bone of contention and, should the diary be a forgery, an obvious mistake. However there are I feel two possibilities that could explain this away. 1) That the place now called The Poste House is NOT the same venue meant by the writer of the diary at all and that we have all just assumed that this must have been where James meant, or 2) That The Muck Midden may well have been 'nicknamed' The Poste House for some reason at the time by the regulars at the flags which James frequented. If this is so, it might explain why when The Muck Midden was re-named it was then called The Poste House by the new owners. In saying this Chris and all I am assuming that The Poste House was the subsequent name for the building so please excuse me if this in incorrect.
As far as the point about James being a hypercondriac and therefore would be incapable of committing such acts goes, I think all of you are again falling into the trap of thinking too logically. By this I mean that when you are suffering with a mental or emotional illness (as I feel it is obvious that the diary writer was) you simply do not act in the way that you would do normally. Now I do not mean this statement to be taken as me apparently 'telling you all off because I know better' because obviously I don't. I HAVE however suffered a lot of my life with depression and had both councilling, medication and group therapy for it and for this reason I feel I can say that I believe that a man such as Maybrick in the kind of situation that he found himself in COULD have been capable of committing extremely violent acts fuelled by temporary bouts of extreme depression or insanity. I myself have blown all of the glass from my bedroom window in onto myself by slamming a bowed window that wouldn't shut shut. Thankfully, on that occasion I suffered only minor cuts to my face but it was a crazy thing to do and one that I undoubtedly would not have done had I been thinking straight. On that occasion all my pent up resentment, frustration and hatred was taken out on a simple window frame but I can easily believe that a man like Maybrick whose wife was having an affair could very much be tempted to meat out his 'revenge' on other '*****s' as he reffered to his wife.
Oh, God now I've got you all thinking what a psycho I am haven't I? Well I can assure you that I am not, what I am is simply a very open and honest man that is thoroughly enjoying this facinating debate!

Over to you!

All the best,

Tony.

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi Tony

Many thanks for your interesting post. In regard to the last part of your message and the incident with the shattered window, I hear you that sometimes people do have temporary insanity as it were. I am normally a placid and even tempered bloke but when something gets my rag I can completely see red and really lose it. So I can well understand the frustration that you had with the window that wouldn't shut.

As for the "Poste House" question, I think that people who try to excuse the Diary's mention of the Poste House are trying to wriggle out of the fact that the writer of the Diary -- presumably a hoaxer in the 1980's or early 1990's -- made that mistake. However, having said that, some people that I admire, one of them Caroline Morris, one of the authors of Ripper Diary: The Inside Story, have argued strongly that some other tavern in the 'Pool could have been informally named "The Poste House." The same argument has been made by Paul Begg, executive editor of Ripperologist, with whom I have had numerous discussions on this very matter.

Chris

[scouserdave]

Chris, I forgot to mention this last week, but the Maybrick family gravestone has been damaged. Spotted it when I was in Anfield Cemetery taking photos of the cemetery's "noteables"

[ChrisGeorge]

Thanks for this notification, Dave. I would like to use your photograph in the new (February) issue of Ripperologist if I may. I will credit you under your real name. Okay?

Chris