In The Ripper Code, Thomas Toughill, author of Oscar Slater, The Immortal case of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, applies his detective skills to the greatest mystery in British Criminology; the identity of Jack the Ripper. The result is the most important breakthrough in the Ripper case since the discovery of the Macnaghten Memorandum nearly 50 years ago.
Toughill suggests that Jack the Ripper was a former "friend" of Oscar Wilde and that Wilde dropped hints about this in several of his works, most notably The Picture of Dorian Gray, which Wilde wrote in 1889, the year after the Ripper murders took place. In fascinating detail, the author argues that Wilde’s story, that of a privileged man whose life of vice in the East End of London turns him into a murderer, is in fact a coded message about the Ripper’s identity.
However, The Ripper Code (published by the History Press)is not just a voyage through the writings of Oscar Wilde and others. It is also represents some original detective work, in which Toughill, who served for over 15 years in the Special Branch of the Royal Hong Kong Police, unveils stunning new evidence from an hitherto untapped source and uses it to devastating effect in presenting his case.
Thomas Toughill is also the author of ‘Oscar Slater: The Immortal Case of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’. He lives in Gibraltar. He co-hosted the recent BBC4 programme ‘Conan Doyle for the Defence’.
