with Maureen Johnson
We are delighted to welcome author Maureen Johnson to Omnimystery News today.
Maureen's second thriller in her "Shades of London" series for young adults is The Madness Underneath (Putnam Juvenile, February 2013 hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats).
We recently had a chance to talk to the author about hew new book, which is set in the present but references a notorious criminal from history.
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Omnimystery News: Why Jack the Ripper? What's so interesting about a murder case from 1888?
Photo provided courtesy of
Maureen Johnson; Photo credit Heather Weston
Maureen Johnson: That's what I wanted to know.
Jack the Ripper. The name means Victorian England. It means foggy streets, and carriages, and the glint of a silver knife. It was a story I was fascinated by as a child. It was a real life mystery, like in the books. There's something almost romantic about Jack.
This, when you think about it, is one of the most disturbing things possible. It would be exactly like saying there's something romantic about Ted Bundy or Charles Manson. The fifth murder of the Ripper series, the murder of Mary Kelly, is still considered one of the worst crime scenes in English history.
The real mystery is just what you ask: why is this man famous? He murdered prostitutes, women who barely registered on the Victorian social scale. He worked in East London, a place that was rife with murder. It genuinely does not make sense that this man should be an object of interest for over a hundred years.
The answer might be found in an incredibly boring fact. Up until 1855, there was a stamp tax on newspapers in England, making them far to expensive for many people to buy. Once that tax was abolished in that year, there was a surge in activity. Now everyone could afford a paper. One of the papers that popped up was called The Star, and the Star knew a good story when it saw one. Jack the Ripper was a creation of the media. Yes, there was a Whitechapel murderer, but truth be told, no one quite knows how many people he killed. It could have been four, or six, or more. (The canonical five are the five most likely victims, bearing certain signature injuries.) The publishers of The Star newspaper first saw the huge potential in the story, pumping it daily, adding frightening drawings. They were likely the ones who coined the name Jack the Ripper. (This is one of the reasons the first book in the series is called The Name of the Star).
Jack the Ripper is a story based on fact, but the lines between fiction and reality are blurry. The Scotland Yard case files are surprisingly paltry. Almost no evidence is still available for examination. The culprit is most assuredly dead. But what we have left is the fear, so carefully cultivated by the editors of that newspaper. The fear is so well drawn, it doesn't die. Jack the Ripper became part of a collective imagination. At the time when people were abandoning tales of bogeymen, the press provided a real-life substitute.
After 123 years, people are still trying to catch Jack the Ripper. The investigation has never stopped, not once. Even though this guy is clearly dead, people are still trying to find him. Jack the Ripper has armies of people investigating his case, filling in the gaps in the files, recreating the scenes. And since someone solves the case every year or so, there's always a documentary to watch, another story to tell. People have been giving Jack the Ripper the Wikipedia treatment since 1888. And it was from this point of fact that I started my story, and put the killer back on the streets of East London. I needed a character that would cause a panic — and the very name Jack the Ripper does just that.
OMN: The East End of London has changed quite a bit since Victorian times. Did this affect in any way the plotlines?
MJ: The "Shades of London" books are really about London, in many ways. The city is a character, of sorts. Much of the books are about the London that can't always be seen: the past, the underground, the secret services. Getting it right was vital.
I spend a lot of time in London, and I made sure I knew the East London neighborhood where the story mostly takes place. I did Ripper tours, then I worked on my own with maps and books. I researched underground tunnels — everything from the actual Underground, to sewers, to shelters, to graveyards and escape routes and (now known) secret bunkers.
OMN: You mention some of the activities you did in researching your books. Give us a top five list of Jack the Ripper — or maybe even just crime fiction — things to do in London.
MJ: 1. Take a Jack the Ripper walk with London Walks (with Donald Rumbelow, if you can). Taking a Jack the Ripper walk may seem like a touristy thing to do, but it's worth it, especially with a good guide. London Walks have some of the best guides, and Donald Rumbelow is a noted authority on the Jack the Ripper Case. He's actually contributed to the existing case file.
2. Go to the Ten Bells Pub. Most Ripper walks end here. The Ten Bells is today is a busy pub in a fashionable area. In 1888, it was a considerably more downtrodden affair, and one that comes up several times in the Ripper story. On the wall, the Ripper victims are commemorated in a plaque (including a sixth victim, Martha Tabram, who is not part of the "canonical five" victims that most experts agree were the work of the Ripper). It's worth seeing for its extensive Victorian tilework and unique atmosphere.
3. Go to Spitalfields Market. Square in Ripper territory, this bustling market — once just a large village market — is now extremely fashionable and fun. The area is full of amazing old buildings, now carefully restored. Definitely a place to get the flavor of Victorian London (without the disease or terrible hardship that was the signature of the area of the time, which is nice). If you're at the Ten Bells, you're very close. Just stroll over!
4. Go to the Museum of London. This is the museum dedicated to — you guessed it — London and its history. Anyone who's ever enjoyed a crime novel set in London will enjoy a trip here. The sights, sounds, layouts, and daily life of London in its very long history are all set out.
5. Go to the British Library. The British Library may be the greatest user-oriented library in the world. Modern, bright, huge, technologically savvy, and easy to use … it's like book Disneyland. They also often have exhibitions and special features, many of which would appeal to crime story lovers. They have several cafes and restaurants, and a large store with gifts for readers. If books are your thing, it is worth a trip.
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Maureen Johnson's first book in the "Shades of London" series, The Name of the Star, was nominated for an Edgar Award; she is currently working on the third (of four planned). She lives in New York City but travels to the UK on a regular basis. To learn more about the author, visit her website at MaureenJohnsonBooks.com or find her on Twitter.
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The Madness Underneath
Maureen Johnson
The Shades of London (2nd in series)
After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance to get back to her friends.
But Rory's brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she's become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades — the city's secret ghost-fighting police — are responsible for her return.
The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it's too late.
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