[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"work-reviews-detail-the-diary-of-jack-the-ripper-the-discovery-the-investigation-the-authentication-the-debate-3os8":3,"work-reviews-list-the-diary-of-jack-the-ripper-the-discovery-the-investigation-the-authentication-the-debate-3os8":121},{"id":4,"slug":5,"title":6,"original_title":7,"description":8,"first_publish_year":9,"original_language":10,"primary_cover_url":11,"cover_3d_url":12,"cover_blurhash":13,"preferred_edition_id":7,"community_rating_avg":14,"community_rating_count":15,"page_count":16,"estimated_reading_minutes":17,"shelves_added_this_week":18,"enrichment_status":19,"community_depth_avg":7,"community_momentum_avg":7,"community_atmosphere_avg":7,"community_craft_avg":7,"community_impact_avg":7,"community_spice_avg":7,"is_non_fiction":20,"is_romance":20,"is_indexable":21,"rating_distribution":22,"authors":23,"genres":35,"characters":60,"places":71,"subjects":81,"series":96,"editions":97,"enrichment":104,"community_distribution":7,"default_edition":118,"faqs":119,"reviews_count":15,"contributions_count":18,"quotes_count":18,"photos_count":18,"created_at":120},"01kkfjfz1fa320r48cam1te7xf","the-diary-of-jack-the-ripper-the-discovery-the-investigation-the-authentication-the-debate-3os8","The Diary of Jack the Ripper: The Discovery, the Investigation, the Authentication, the Debate",null,"In March 1992, an out-of-work scrap dealer named Michael Barrett brought a Victorian-looking diary to a London literary agent, claiming it had been given to him by a friend. The diary purported to be the confession of James Maybrick, a Liverpool cotton merchant, admitting to the 1888 Whitechapel murders attributed to Jack the Ripper.\n\nShirley Harrison's book, published the following year, lays out the diary's discovery, the scramble to authenticate it, and the forensic tests run on its ink and paper — tests that produced conflicting results and became a flashpoint in their own right. It also covers the surrounding cast: Barrett, the Maybrick family, and the historians and document examiners drawn into the dispute.\n\nThe diary is regarded by most Ripper historians and forensic document examiners as a modern forgery — ink-dating studies and inconsistencies with Maybrick's known handwriting are frequently cited — and Barrett himself later signed a statement claiming he forged it, though he subsequently retracted that too. Harrison maintained until her death that the diary was genuine. The book is best read as a case study in the mechanics of a disputed document rather than as settled history.",1993,"en","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fstorage\u002Fcovers\u002Feditions\u002F01\u002F01kkfjfz3fkd1pg19yh18fbmxg.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fstorage\u002Fcovers\u002Fworks-3d\u002F01\u002F01kkfjfz1fa320r48cam1te7xf.png?v=f6a76e340d","L0A0LB=MC7.800I:rXwg00kqxaIU","3.00",1,352,400,0,"pending",false,true,[18,18,18,18,18,15,18,18,18,18],[24,30],{"id":25,"slug":26,"name":27,"role":28,"bio":29},"01kkfjfz34pha8nrp1wshkfrr7","james-maybrick-wda1","James Maybrick","author","James Maybrick was a nineteenth-century Liverpool cotton merchant whose legacy is tied to one of the most debated documents in true crime history. He is the purported author of The Diary of Jack the Ripper,",{"id":31,"slug":32,"name":33,"role":28,"bio":34},"01kkfjfz3awyq1fyx17wvgp6a4","shirley-harrison-mifb","Shirley Harrison","Shirley Harrison is a true crime author best known for her work on the controversial Maybrick diary. Her book, The Diary of Jack the Ripper, documents the investigation and debate surrounding the document's authenticity.",[36,40,44,48,52,56],{"id":37,"name":38,"slug":39,"is_fiction":21},6,"Mystery","mystery",{"id":41,"name":42,"slug":43,"is_fiction":21},44,"Crime","crime",{"id":45,"name":46,"slug":47,"is_fiction":20},69,"Biography & Memoir","biography-memoir",{"id":49,"name":50,"slug":51,"is_fiction":20},70,"History","history",{"id":53,"name":54,"slug":55,"is_fiction":20},88,"Biography","biography",{"id":57,"name":58,"slug":59,"is_fiction":20},104,"True Crime","true-crime",[61,65,68],{"id":62,"name":63,"description":7,"role":64,"is_spoiler":21},"01kjstgkzb7c1n0pe4yntca1jj","Jack the Ripper","antagonist",{"id":66,"name":33,"description":7,"role":67,"is_spoiler":21},"01kkfjfz5gn9d2a6s2y5xxqcex","supporting",{"id":69,"name":27,"description":70,"role":67,"is_spoiler":20},"01kkfjfz572p75cbtacxppbcbf","Liverpool cotton merchant identified in the diary as its author and as Jack the Ripper; a claim not supported by mainstream historians.",[72,75,78],{"id":73,"name":74,"description":7,"is_fictional":20,"real_world_location":7},"01kk4557a9nb3chbq8ee8zyk14","London",{"id":76,"name":77,"description":7,"is_fictional":20,"real_world_location":7},"01kn4hwr46c75fkjfeaze8g2v8","Liverpool",{"id":79,"name":80,"description":7,"is_fictional":20,"real_world_location":7},"01kr4ste6vjy810wsrd12wqv51","Whitechapel, London",[82,85,87,89,91,93],{"id":83,"name":58,"type":84},"01kjq6w3sz7mjgxazfergdjxwc","subject",{"id":86,"name":50,"type":84},"01kjq6wmn0srd36b4r9q2dnn63",{"id":88,"name":42,"type":84},"01kjq6vr30v8w0cpga6zd9vnbq",{"id":90,"name":38,"type":84},"01kjq6vr2gsjvwvxcxcfp2ppyt",{"id":92,"name":54,"type":84},"01kjq6xyd4jwfendkw33c5r6f3",{"id":94,"name":95,"type":84},"01kjq7cgzxgj00bj42wk2t2zcg","Horror",[],[98],{"id":99,"title":6,"edition_name":7,"format":100,"format_label":101,"page_count":16,"audio_duration_minutes":7,"narrator":7,"publish_date":102,"cover_url":11,"cover_blurhash":7,"isbn_13":7,"asin":7,"publisher":7,"language":7,"quality_score":18,"submission_status":103},"01kkfjfz3fkd1pg19yh18fbmxg","hardcover","Hardcover","January 1, 1993","approved",{"summary":105,"pace":106,"complexity":107,"complexity_score":108,"audience":109,"mood":110,"themes":115,"setting_period":116,"content_warnings":117},"In 1993, a leather-bound diary surfaced claiming to be a confession written by Liverpool cotton merchant James Maybrick, identifying him as Jack the Ripper. Shirley Harrison's book lays out the diary's disputed discovery, the forensic testing conducted on its ink and paper, and the case for and against its authenticity. The consensus among Ripper historians and forensic document examiners is that the diary is a forgery, though Harrison herself continued to argue for its authenticity.","moderate","dense",7,"adult",[111,112,113,114],"mysterious","dark","tense","thought-provoking",[],"Victorian era (1888 murders); diary surfaced in 1992",[],{"id":99,"title":6,"edition_name":7,"format":100,"format_label":101,"page_count":16,"audio_duration_minutes":7,"publish_date":102,"cover_url":11,"cover_blurhash":13,"isbn_13":7,"asin":7,"publisher":7,"language":7},[],"2026-03-11T23:07:45.000000Z",{"data":122,"links":138,"meta":139},[123],{"id":124,"slug":125,"title":126,"user":127,"work_id":4,"is_draft":20,"verified_reader":21,"featured":20,"body":7,"overall_rating":133,"depth":7,"momentum":7,"atmosphere":7,"craft":7,"impact":7,"spice":7,"spoiler_level":134,"locale":7,"feed_item_key":135,"like_count":18,"comment_count":18,"top_likers":136,"viewer_can_reply":20,"created_at":137,"updated_at":137},"01kkfjfzew7t6aa2hr7p375wqv","review-of-the-diary-of-jack-the-ripper-the-discovery-the-investigation-the-authentication-the-debate-by-hela","Review of \"The Diary of Jack the Ripper: The Discovery, the Investigation, the Authentication, the Debate\" by hela",{"id":128,"name":129,"username":130,"avatar_url":131,"is_system":20,"published_reviews_count":132,"books_read_count":132},23,"Hela","hela","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fimages\u002Favatars\u002Fdefaults\u002F137.webp",98,3,"none","rv-01kkfjfzew7t6aa2hr7p375wqv",[],"2026-03-11T23:07:46.000000Z",{"first":7,"last":7,"prev":7,"next":7},{"path":140,"per_page":141,"next_cursor":7,"prev_cursor":7,"has_more":20},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fapi\u002Fworks\u002F01kkfjfz1fa320r48cam1te7xf\u002Freviews",20]