The Last Victim by
Graham,A E Emmas
hbk out January 99
Published by Headline
at £16.99
Florence , the wife of James Maybrick , found guilty of his murder in May 1899, eventually escaped the death sentence but served fifteen years in prison, in conditions which initially would make her wish she could put an end to it all but which later would improve so that her life would become at least tolerable.
Anne Graham (great-grandaughter of Florence Maybrick, and Carol Emmas) have collaborated on the writing of "The Last Victim" and have produced a detailed and fascinating picture of a pretty, likeable and extremely unlucky woman who was in a real sense her husband's last victim. She was certainly, given the evidence produced in this book, a victim of the Maybrick brothers, a devious nursemaid called Alice Yapp and of the prevailing attitudes to women and marriage. For the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria, Florence's proven infidelity was enough to damn her and settle her fate regarding the murder of her husband. It was reported that "....the Queen is inflexibly convinced of Mrs Maybrick's guilt."
Graham and Emmas have been thorough in their research, their main sources being the still controversial "Diary of Jack the Ripper" attributed to James Maybrick and handed to Anne Graham by
her father, seven boxes containing approximately 425 Home Office files relating to Florence Maybrick's case and preserved at the Public Record office in Kew, West London, and copies of the extensive collection of notes and papers of American author Trevor L. Christie whose book "Etched in Arsenic" is recognised as one of the best studies of the Maybrick case to date.
Graham and Emmas have put forward a convincing case for the innocence of Florence, wife of JamesMaybrick, "arsenic eater" and writer of the Ripper diary. The book is well produced with an appropriate and eye-catching cover and with a large number of
photographic sources, particularly of Florence Maybrick herself. The book held my attention and drew my sympathy for the unfortunate, even tragic "Victim" herself. It is clear that the authors have put an immense amount of work into the collating of factual evidence and the development of a thesis regarding her innocence. If I have one qualification, it is on account of the (usually) opening lines of some of the chapters where descriptions for atmosphere and effect detract (for me) from the factual basis of the book. Was Florence really "bathed in a pool of sunshine" as she stood in the dock? Was there really a "thick blanket of fog" on a certain night and did Monday really "dawn bright and sunny"?
The book will draw a large readership no doubt. The Ripper case loses none of its fascination as time passes. This is an interesting addition to the already extensive collection of writings surrounding the affair.
The Last Victim by
Graham,A E Emmas