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Jack the Ripper Victims Series #1
Of Thimble and Threat: A Novel of Catherine Eddowes, the Fourth Victim of Jack the Ripper
This illustrated novel is part of the Jack the Ripper Victims Series. Each novel in the series is a standalone story.
In Victorian London, the greatest city of the richest country in the world, the industrial revolution has created a world of decadence and prosperity, but also one of unimaginable squalor and suffering. Human degradation, filth, rats, parasites, danger, sorrow, and death are ever-present in its streets. Catherine Eddowes is found murdered gruesomely in the city's East End. The possessions, including clothes--over fifty personal items--carried on her person are listed in the police reports of the crime. Wearing several layers of clothing and having stayed the two night prior to the one of her death in the workhouse casual ward (homeless shelter), the possessions may have been everything she owned in the world. In OF THIMBLE AND THREAT, Alan M. Clark tells the heartbreaking story of Catherine Eddowes, the fourth victim of Jack the Ripper, explaining the origin and acquisition of the items found with her at the time of her death, chronicling her life from childhood to adulthood, motherhood, her descent into alcoholism, and finally her death. OF THIMBLE AND THREAT is a story of the intense love between a mother and a child, a story of poverty and loss, fierce independence, and unconquerable will. It is the devastating portrayal of a self-perpetuated descent into Hell, a lucid view into the darkest parts of the human heart.
In Victorian London, the greatest city of the richest country in the world, the industrial revolution has created a world of decadence and prosperity, but also one of unimaginable squalor and suffering. Human degradation, filth, rats, parasites, danger, sorrow, and death are ever-present in its streets. Catherine Eddowes is found murdered gruesomely in the city's East End. The possessions, including clothes--over fifty personal items--carried on her person are listed in the police reports of the crime. Wearing several layers of clothing and having stayed the two night prior to the one of her death in the workhouse casual ward (homeless shelter), the possessions may have been everything she owned in the world. In OF THIMBLE AND THREAT, Alan M. Clark tells the heartbreaking story of Catherine Eddowes, the fourth victim of Jack the Ripper, explaining the origin and acquisition of the items found with her at the time of her death, chronicling her life from childhood to adulthood, motherhood, her descent into alcoholism, and finally her death. OF THIMBLE AND THREAT is a story of the intense love between a mother and a child, a story of poverty and loss, fierce independence, and unconquerable will. It is the devastating portrayal of a self-perpetuated descent into Hell, a lucid view into the darkest parts of the human heart.
156 pages, Paperback
First published October 18, 2011
About the author
Alan M. Clark
139 books323 followersAuthor and illustrator, Alan M. Clark grew up in Tennessee in a house full of bones and old medical books. His awards include the World Fantasy Award and four Chesley Awards. He is the author of twenty-one books, including fourteen novels, a lavishly illustrated novella, a lavishly illustrated novellette, four collections of fiction, and a nonfiction full-color book of his artwork. Mr. Clark's company, IFD Publishing, has released 45 titles of various editions, including traditional books, both paperback and hardcover, audio books, and ebooks by such authors as F. Paul Wilson, Elizabeth Engstrom, and Jeremy Robert Johnson. Alan M. Clark and his wife, Melody, live in Oregon. www.alanmclark.com Visit his blog: https://ifdpublishing.com/blog
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 2, 2015
This elegant and moving little novel takes its inspiration from the personal effects found on the body of Catherine Eddowes after her murder during the Autumn of Terror in 1888. Eddowes apparently carried all that she owned in the world with her, and Alan M. Clark extrapolates a life story from these items. The result is a powerful and well-researched meditation on the conditions faced by women in the East End of London during the late Victorian period. This is not a novel about Jack the Ripper or about Eddowes's death (which is covered in a few brief paragraphs); it is a tragic and compelling tale about a woman's life. Its sensitive story puts a human face on both the People of the Abyss and a victim of the Whitechapel murders.
January 9, 2012
Gloom vanished pretty quickly. But I’m a heartless person, you know. Well, not that heartless: I still have a stump here in my chest, spurting blood and tears. Occasionally.
Kate Eddowes is the main character of this book and perhaps the penultimate victim of Jack The Ripper. She was a poor child raised by heartless (uhm…) relatives, the uncle incestuous as well as cruel. Then she gets married to escape a life of serfdom. “Where’s the big change in that?” you might ask. I ask that too: her husbands is no more human than her uncle, aggravated by a rigid pole up his ass ( I feel like adding). She births two children with Mr Pole, leaves him and becomes a drunkard. She strives to get a living, becomes a prostitute to keep on drinking. And one night she meets the only man who shows her kindness: Jack. Kindly, he slits her throat, cuts off her nose and eyelids and a piece of earlobe. Opens her up, unravels her intestines, cuts up her uterus and kidneys. One of the kidneys is sent to the police, the other (he writes cheerfully) he eats with a good Chianti (no, wait, that’s Hannibal). All with kindness, though.
On her ravished body some assorted items and layers of clothing (poor homeless people wear all their possessions at once, having no home to store them). A long, pitiful list that recounts a life of abjection and poverty.
But still, a life.
Alan C. Clark is a maestro and from each possession builds an episode of this wretched existence: the silvery thimble, worn off by use belonged to her mother, the table knife with the white handle was used to keep the incestuous uncle at bay, the half glasses belonged to her illiterate friend. A rosary that breaks your heart and depicts with great insight the life on the East End of Victorian London.
A beautiful book. You will cry your heart out, if you still have one. I warn you.
Kate Eddowes is the main character of this book and perhaps the penultimate victim of Jack The Ripper. She was a poor child raised by heartless (uhm…) relatives, the uncle incestuous as well as cruel. Then she gets married to escape a life of serfdom. “Where’s the big change in that?” you might ask. I ask that too: her husbands is no more human than her uncle, aggravated by a rigid pole up his ass ( I feel like adding). She births two children with Mr Pole, leaves him and becomes a drunkard. She strives to get a living, becomes a prostitute to keep on drinking. And one night she meets the only man who shows her kindness: Jack. Kindly, he slits her throat, cuts off her nose and eyelids and a piece of earlobe. Opens her up, unravels her intestines, cuts up her uterus and kidneys. One of the kidneys is sent to the police, the other (he writes cheerfully) he eats with a good Chianti (no, wait, that’s Hannibal). All with kindness, though.
On her ravished body some assorted items and layers of clothing (poor homeless people wear all their possessions at once, having no home to store them). A long, pitiful list that recounts a life of abjection and poverty.
But still, a life.
Alan C. Clark is a maestro and from each possession builds an episode of this wretched existence: the silvery thimble, worn off by use belonged to her mother, the table knife with the white handle was used to keep the incestuous uncle at bay, the half glasses belonged to her illiterate friend. A rosary that breaks your heart and depicts with great insight the life on the East End of Victorian London.
A beautiful book. You will cry your heart out, if you still have one. I warn you.
February 20, 2012
Alan M. Clark grabbed my heart, twisted it, and tugged on it all the way from page one to page last. I have to admit that I did not want to read about the victim of one of the first, and arguably the most famous, serial killers. However, Clark's portray of the psychological reality of Catherine Eddowe's life from childhood to the fateful moment was so compelling that I could not put the book down. It was a fast, powerful read, and it left me looking at the world in which I live a little differently than before I started. How far we have come from the dark world of the sooty streets of Victorian London, and how little we have learned from our journey. Thank you Mr. Clark for reminding me that every life has value and every heart harbors dreams.
Merged review:
Alan M. Clark grabbed my heart, twisted it, and tugged on it all the way from page one to page last. I have to admit that I did not want to read about the victim of one of the first, and arguably the most famous, serial killers. However, Clark's portray of the psychological reality of Catherine Eddowe's life from childhood to the fateful moment was so compelling that I could not put the book down. It was a fast, powerful read, and it left me looking at the world in which I live a little differently than before I started. How far we have come from the dark world of the sooty streets of Victorian London, and how little we have learned from our journey. Thank you Mr. Clark for reminding me that every life has value and every heart harbors dreams.
Merged review:
Alan M. Clark grabbed my heart, twisted it, and tugged on it all the way from page one to page last. I have to admit that I did not want to read about the victim of one of the first, and arguably the most famous, serial killers. However, Clark's portray of the psychological reality of Catherine Eddowe's life from childhood to the fateful moment was so compelling that I could not put the book down. It was a fast, powerful read, and it left me looking at the world in which I live a little differently than before I started. How far we have come from the dark world of the sooty streets of Victorian London, and how little we have learned from our journey. Thank you Mr. Clark for reminding me that every life has value and every heart harbors dreams.
November 14, 2011
Curious about a tale based on a Ripper victim's possessions, I settled into a book that I thought would last me a few evenings...but I could not put Of Thimble and Threat down until the end. Alan Clark creates the thickly atmospheric backstreets, bars and working folks of Victorian London realistically through Kate's struggles for a decent existence. Her yearnings and perseverance had me rooting for her the whole way. I experienced a sensory read of London's seedier side - I could see it, hear it and smell it. And disturbingly so...I could feel it. The tale creates a stirring emotional conumdrum for the reader - Clark endears you to a woman whose hideous fate is already known. Kate and her unfulfilled dreams still linger in my mind. A consuming and moving fine read.
December 6, 2013
Catherine Eddowes was the fourth victim of Jack the Ripper. The police made a list of everything that was found on her body at the murder scene. Those few belongings might have been everything she owned.
In Of Thimble and Threat, Alan M. Clark builds a heartbreaking fictionalized account of Catherine’s life around that list. Like a trail of bread crumbs, it takes you from start to finish through a life of ambition, rejection, motherhood, poverty, alcoholism and dashed dreams to the fateful night when Catherine — Katie — would write her name in the history books in blood.
The Ripper figures only briefly. His shadow looms over every page, but this isn’t his story. It’s not even just Katie’s story. With compassion and subtlety the novel captures the experience of many poor, single, middle-aged women in the age of Jack the Ripper, when one of the greatest cities in the richest country on earth teemed with disease, vermin, filth and human misery. Through Katie we see a society of hellish advancement and brutal arithmetic. You will question the limits of your willingness to help another human being… and be grateful you’re not in her worn-out shoes.
Jack the Ripper has inspired endless works of imagination. Not so with his victims. If my mother had died at his hands, I’d hope her story would be as poignantly illuminated as Catherine Eddowes’s.
In Of Thimble and Threat, Alan M. Clark builds a heartbreaking fictionalized account of Catherine’s life around that list. Like a trail of bread crumbs, it takes you from start to finish through a life of ambition, rejection, motherhood, poverty, alcoholism and dashed dreams to the fateful night when Catherine — Katie — would write her name in the history books in blood.
The Ripper figures only briefly. His shadow looms over every page, but this isn’t his story. It’s not even just Katie’s story. With compassion and subtlety the novel captures the experience of many poor, single, middle-aged women in the age of Jack the Ripper, when one of the greatest cities in the richest country on earth teemed with disease, vermin, filth and human misery. Through Katie we see a society of hellish advancement and brutal arithmetic. You will question the limits of your willingness to help another human being… and be grateful you’re not in her worn-out shoes.
Jack the Ripper has inspired endless works of imagination. Not so with his victims. If my mother had died at his hands, I’d hope her story would be as poignantly illuminated as Catherine Eddowes’s.
April 27, 2012
If you've been put off from reading this book because it's written by an American or you think it's going to be just Jack ripping his merry way through Old London town aka Charles Dickens' Friday 13th then you are depriving yourself of the chance to read an outstanding book. Alan Clark has written a brilliant novel highlighting the social horrors of life in Victorian England, which is far more relevant today than a hockey mask maniac or a pantomime villain in top hat and tails.
February 19, 2012
Very very good: almost unbearably sad, but not grim. Actually it is a little bit grim, especially since you know from the start exactly how it's going to end, but it's not humorless. (In particularly one description of a pub made me laugh, and I'll be adding it to my list of favorite metaphors.)
May 7, 2012
I love this book. I totally wasn't expecting this book. This one hit me on a lot of levels. This one is so good.The more I think about this book, the more I appreciate it. This is one of the best books that I have read this year.
August 9, 2017
I have now listened to three of the four books in the Jack the Ripper Victim series, and I see that Alan Clark's fictional biographies of the women, made famous by their murder, are historical treatises on the plight of women in Victorian London. We have be told, when reading about Jack, that his victims were drunken prostitutes, that they had husbands and children whom they abandoned in favor of the cruel life on the streets using their bodies to earn their doss. In other words, to Victorian men, women were less than nothing, mere chattel to be done with as they pleased. Giving a life, replete with emotions, needs and desires, to each of the victims allows us to see these women as the human beings they once were.
Each of the books provides a totally believable scenario for the life of each victim. His account on Katherine Eddowes differs slightly from the other two about whom I have read. Her life had a definite turning point that led her down the path of over indulgence in alcohol and giving in to the need for money by prostituting herself. The history contained here is in some ways less appalling than for Annie Chapman and Polly Nichols. Alan Clark has struck a balance that lends more credence to this series of fictional biographies.
This is the first book in the series where the soon-to-be victim voices an awareness of Jack. In fact, she makes a fairly significant life decision based on that knowledge.
OF THIMBLE AND THREAT gives more of a direct nod to Clark's long standing in the horror genre as both a writer and an illustrator. This is most evident in the more than a little chilling end to Katherine Eddowes life.
I continue to be enthralled with the stories in no small part because of the narrative performance of Alicia Rose. I am inclined to recommend that you skip the written word in favor of the spoken so as to be fully immersed in the experience of Victorian London her reading provides.
Each of the books provides a totally believable scenario for the life of each victim. His account on Katherine Eddowes differs slightly from the other two about whom I have read. Her life had a definite turning point that led her down the path of over indulgence in alcohol and giving in to the need for money by prostituting herself. The history contained here is in some ways less appalling than for Annie Chapman and Polly Nichols. Alan Clark has struck a balance that lends more credence to this series of fictional biographies.
This is the first book in the series where the soon-to-be victim voices an awareness of Jack. In fact, she makes a fairly significant life decision based on that knowledge.
OF THIMBLE AND THREAT gives more of a direct nod to Clark's long standing in the horror genre as both a writer and an illustrator. This is most evident in the more than a little chilling end to Katherine Eddowes life.
I continue to be enthralled with the stories in no small part because of the narrative performance of Alicia Rose. I am inclined to recommend that you skip the written word in favor of the spoken so as to be fully immersed in the experience of Victorian London her reading provides.
December 1, 2018
Of Thimble and Threat: A Novel of Catherine Eddowes, the Fourth Victim of Jack the Ripper by Alan M. Clark it is a story about the desires and dreams of a poor woman who is constantly looking for an improvement in her living conditions. The woman has a dream but have to postpone it to be a good wife, a good mother and a pious woman as the men of her life wish. But life is not roses and flowers, but indigence, pain and violence. When she finally could realizes her dream, she discovers she has sacrificed herself too long for others and has no more hope. Her home is now what she wears, she has neither enough money to survive nor health to alleviate her labors. She gets drunk to anesthetize the pain, prostitutes herself to pay for food and lodging. She is nothing. She is Catherine Eddowes, the fouth victim of Jack the Ripper.
The status of women in the Victorian era was often seen as a snapshot of the striking discrepancy between the United Kingdom's national power and wealth and what many, then and now, consider its appalling social conditions. During the era symbolized by the reign of Queen Victoria, women did not have the right to vote, sue, or own property. But at the same time, women participated in the paid workforce in increasing numbers following the Industrial Revolution.
Of Thimble and Threat: A Novel of Catherine Eddowes, the Fourth Victim of Jack the Ripper perfectly shows us this discrepancy between genders, family relationships, job opportunities and social perception.
Alan M. Clark, as always in the Jack the Ripper Victims Series, shows us credible and real characters with their emotions and behaviors, bringing readers to experience on their skin the fears and vicissitudes experienced by his characters.
The status of women in the Victorian era was often seen as a snapshot of the striking discrepancy between the United Kingdom's national power and wealth and what many, then and now, consider its appalling social conditions. During the era symbolized by the reign of Queen Victoria, women did not have the right to vote, sue, or own property. But at the same time, women participated in the paid workforce in increasing numbers following the Industrial Revolution.
Of Thimble and Threat: A Novel of Catherine Eddowes, the Fourth Victim of Jack the Ripper perfectly shows us this discrepancy between genders, family relationships, job opportunities and social perception.
Alan M. Clark, as always in the Jack the Ripper Victims Series, shows us credible and real characters with their emotions and behaviors, bringing readers to experience on their skin the fears and vicissitudes experienced by his characters.
December 6, 2019
Alan M. Clark’s “Of Thimble and Threat” is part of his “Jack The Ripper Victims Series”. The novel follows the life of Catherine Eddowes, the fourth victim of the Ripper. Not much is known about the life of Catherine, but Alan through diligent research and imagination has brought the dead to life. I have had the great fortune to speak with Alan and it is clear that his passion for historical accuracy shines brilliantly in conversation and his book’s pages.
Though it was clear from the beginning that Catherine would not escape her fate at the hands of that infamous murderer, I could not help but love her. Following her through childhood and early adulthood endeared me to her. Seeing how the conditions of the time twisted her hopes and how the treatment of women in old London crushed her dreams in midlife, was powerful.
Alan’s question “Who were the Ripper’s victims?”, is a breath of fresh air. All too often the mystery around the killer steals away our attention from those he cruelly slaughtered. It is beautiful that in this book, Catherine’s life is the focus. Her hardships and joys, her tragedies and victories all taking center stage, as they should.
This book brought a tear to my eye, but if seen I would have told you; it’s just a cinder.
Though it was clear from the beginning that Catherine would not escape her fate at the hands of that infamous murderer, I could not help but love her. Following her through childhood and early adulthood endeared me to her. Seeing how the conditions of the time twisted her hopes and how the treatment of women in old London crushed her dreams in midlife, was powerful.
Alan’s question “Who were the Ripper’s victims?”, is a breath of fresh air. All too often the mystery around the killer steals away our attention from those he cruelly slaughtered. It is beautiful that in this book, Catherine’s life is the focus. Her hardships and joys, her tragedies and victories all taking center stage, as they should.
This book brought a tear to my eye, but if seen I would have told you; it’s just a cinder.
June 2, 2020
Alan M.Clark paints a beautiful and oddly tender character study focused on Ripper victim #4, Catherine Eddowes. His portrayal of a woman with nothing striving to extract meaning in an oppressive prison of Victorian chauvinism is masterful - and the tragedy of Eddowes ultimate demise is compounded by the sad inevitable journey Clark takes us on. There are moments when we believe (and pray) that she might somehow make it out alive. A remarkable woman's descent into her immediate savage exploitative landscape that will stay with you long after you put this book down. Impressive and (if you'll excuse the crass and unfortunate word-choice) - vital.
January 15, 2020
I loved this book, like the others, they were well put together and very informative on the life of a ripper victim, though I know most is false, I can picture this life for Catherine Eddowes clearly in my mind. It seems to me, alcohol, back in the day, was stronger and more controlling than it is today. And a lot of people liked it.
In my heart, I wish Katie had a better life, a better husband and children that cared, but in those times, it was hard and gruelling, not as easy as it is today. Conway, her common-law husband, was a controlling rat and I wasn’t fond of him. The thought of child labour Makes me feel ill but he certainly didn’t care. I was disappointed with Katie’s so-called family, when she fell on hard times, she was abandoned callously and it was heartbreaking.
As always, this author has captured the victim and as a living person who had a life, though not the best, and put the ripper on the back burner. For once, someone cares about the conical five and it’s refreshing.
Great, great writing style! It’s very addictive and you’ll find you can’t put it down. Fabulous work.
In my heart, I wish Katie had a better life, a better husband and children that cared, but in those times, it was hard and gruelling, not as easy as it is today. Conway, her common-law husband, was a controlling rat and I wasn’t fond of him. The thought of child labour Makes me feel ill but he certainly didn’t care. I was disappointed with Katie’s so-called family, when she fell on hard times, she was abandoned callously and it was heartbreaking.
As always, this author has captured the victim and as a living person who had a life, though not the best, and put the ripper on the back burner. For once, someone cares about the conical five and it’s refreshing.
Great, great writing style! It’s very addictive and you’ll find you can’t put it down. Fabulous work.
February 4, 2021
Interesting idea to explore the life of a Ripper victim, even if it's just (mostly) based on the authors imagination. More of a set-piece and character development. It was fun, and nice, solid. Just something about it stopped it from being great for me, and it was close to doing so.
January 24, 2020
full review coming soon
January 22, 2016
I was a little apprehensive when I started this novel, since I'm not a big fan of "serial killer" fiction and I was afraid I would end up traumatized for life by it. However, this is not about serial killers and their crimes, but about the complex, tragic, uplifting life of one of Jack the Ripper's victims. We follow Katie (Catherine Eddowes) as she is orphaned as a young teenager and forced to rely on her wits and the charity of others as she tries to stay out of the workhouse and claw her way into a little bit of economic security and social respectability, and then as circumstances overcome her and she slides down towards what we know is her inevitable demise. Late-Victorian Britain is depicted in all its dirty, tumultuous glory, and we are allowed to ride along with Katie's thoughts as she negotiates the difficulties facing working-class women of the period: how to survive without being worked to death, how to protect her children from a similar fate, the constant struggle with the need to turn to some form of prostitution to keep from starving to death, all the while cherishing her own dreams of success beyond mere survival. If this sounds grim, it is, but Katie is a sympathetic and compelling character, elevating this beyond a mere catalogue of the horrors of 19th-century London, and there are flashes of unexpected lyricism, culminating, surprisingly, in Katie's death, which becomes her final act of empowerment and redemption. This is not a light read by any means, but it is a deeply satisfying one, well worth the emotional investment the story demands.
June 10, 2012
Happiness, love and motherhood... Poverty, loss, and murder...
This is the story of the life of a victim of Jack the Ripper, based on a list of the possessions she had on her person at her time of death.
Going into the story I was expecting to be depressed by the inevitable ending, however, what I found was much more fascinating than anything else. It is a story of a woman's life, from her childhood until her murder, but the things she goes through, and the city and time she lives in are so grim to begin with that the death at the end is, in a way, a relief.
I discovered Alan M. Clark through his fantastic and dark paintings that adorn the covers of many other authors I really like, and after reading this book, I am forced to acknowledge that this guy is a multi-talented individual, with no question.
Of Thimble and Threat is not just a really well-written story, but also has a structure that, to me, helped the book avoid any possible depressive pitfalls. Each chapter in the book is named for one of the items found on her person, and in telling the story of her life, Clark slowly builds up her inventory, chapter by chapter. This structure gave me a way to see things with an almost clinical fascination.
I would absolutely recommend this work, and also anything he has ever touched a paintbrush with.
Enjoy!
This is the story of the life of a victim of Jack the Ripper, based on a list of the possessions she had on her person at her time of death.
Going into the story I was expecting to be depressed by the inevitable ending, however, what I found was much more fascinating than anything else. It is a story of a woman's life, from her childhood until her murder, but the things she goes through, and the city and time she lives in are so grim to begin with that the death at the end is, in a way, a relief.
I discovered Alan M. Clark through his fantastic and dark paintings that adorn the covers of many other authors I really like, and after reading this book, I am forced to acknowledge that this guy is a multi-talented individual, with no question.
Of Thimble and Threat is not just a really well-written story, but also has a structure that, to me, helped the book avoid any possible depressive pitfalls. Each chapter in the book is named for one of the items found on her person, and in telling the story of her life, Clark slowly builds up her inventory, chapter by chapter. This structure gave me a way to see things with an almost clinical fascination.
I would absolutely recommend this work, and also anything he has ever touched a paintbrush with.
Enjoy!
February 19, 2013
SPOILER ALERT: She dies in the end.
Er... With a subtitle like "The Life of a Ripper Victim", I guess that really doesn't spoil much.
Jokes help. My my, do they ever with this book. A great read but thoroughly depressing. Your heart rejoices with every little victory Katie manages to claim, knowing full well no matter how high she soars or low she dips her end will be a gruesome one.
Even more interesting than Katie's life of struggle is the world she inhabits. Many books set in Victorian era England deal with the upper crust or other compelling types, not the drecks of society that eek out a meager living for themselves.
Reading the descriptions of daily life for Katie and her family showed me that regardless of how much has changed in the last one hundred and twenty-five years, we are basically still living the same kinds of lives.
Perhaps one of the most perplexing characters I've ever read, Katie seemed one minute to be a strong willed individual, and the next buckling like flimsy cardboard and accepting her fate wherever it tossed her.
I don't know, it's odd to reflect on a life from the point of death. Every person has the same "ending", just different paths for how they got there. Alan Clark writes this story out in a chilling way, it left me feeling like the protagonist manifested her death at the hands of Jack the Ripper. She wanted it. Eek.
Er... With a subtitle like "The Life of a Ripper Victim", I guess that really doesn't spoil much.
Jokes help. My my, do they ever with this book. A great read but thoroughly depressing. Your heart rejoices with every little victory Katie manages to claim, knowing full well no matter how high she soars or low she dips her end will be a gruesome one.
Even more interesting than Katie's life of struggle is the world she inhabits. Many books set in Victorian era England deal with the upper crust or other compelling types, not the drecks of society that eek out a meager living for themselves.
Reading the descriptions of daily life for Katie and her family showed me that regardless of how much has changed in the last one hundred and twenty-five years, we are basically still living the same kinds of lives.
Perhaps one of the most perplexing characters I've ever read, Katie seemed one minute to be a strong willed individual, and the next buckling like flimsy cardboard and accepting her fate wherever it tossed her.
I don't know, it's odd to reflect on a life from the point of death. Every person has the same "ending", just different paths for how they got there. Alan Clark writes this story out in a chilling way, it left me feeling like the protagonist manifested her death at the hands of Jack the Ripper. She wanted it. Eek.
January 30, 2014
Alan M. Clark embellishes nothing as he reimagines the short life of Catherine Eddowes with an astounding eye to historical detail. He takes a fringe curiosity, that being the items carried on the person of the fourth Whitechapel murder victim, and uses them as an entry point to better understand the lost soul that was plowed down by the menace that would become known as Jack the Ripper. But it's important not to set your bar of expectations to the level of scandals, conspiracy theories or sleazy exploitation of murder scenes. Instead, Clark chooses to focus here on one of the human beings whose life was taken by a profoundly evil force, without romanticizing it or making it into some comic book foray of exaggeration. This is not From Hell, but it is one woman's descent into hell in a time where women did not have much heaven to enjoy.
I eagerly anticipate Clark's forthcoming novel, The Door That Faced West, which is due for release in February through Lazy Fascist Press. Clark will once again do battle with the ghosts of history as he tries to understand the trail of murders blazed by the Harpe Brothers and their three wives who must have been suffering from more than a mild degree of Stockholm Syndrome.
I eagerly anticipate Clark's forthcoming novel, The Door That Faced West, which is due for release in February through Lazy Fascist Press. Clark will once again do battle with the ghosts of history as he tries to understand the trail of murders blazed by the Harpe Brothers and their three wives who must have been suffering from more than a mild degree of Stockholm Syndrome.
August 15, 2015
I've long admired Alan M. Clark's artwork (he's a visual artist and illustrator of considerable talent), and I was pleased to learn he also writes fiction. With "Of Thimble and Threat," Mr. Clark has conjured an atmospheric and touching story out of the sad list of belongings found on the body of the ripper's fourth victim, Catherine "Kate" Eddowes. Considering her fate, it would have been easy for this exercise to veer into territory too depressing for most readers. Kate's life (as fictionalized by Mr. Clark) is not an easy one. A lesser writer might have tended toward the maudlin. However, Kate is a character that I found myself rooting for, even though I knew the details of her eventual demise going in. She's never simply a passive victim; she is a resourceful character who is constantly trying to improve her lot in life, sometimes even winning a small victory, despite enormous obstacles. And when her terrible end does finally arrive, I was impressed with how Mr. Clark handled it. "Of Thimble and Threat" is a work of powerful sensitivity.
August 12, 2013
This is the second novel I've read by this author, the first one was A PARLIAMENT OF CROWS, which I was also a big fan of. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read and OF THIMBLE AND THREAT: THE LIFE OF A RIPPER VICTIM did not disappoint. It's far too often that we tend not to put faces and lives to victims of the past, but their stories are ones that need to be told and known, even if they are woven into a work of fiction. This author does it so well. Besides having a wonderful, easy-to-read, yet elegant writing style, he tells a story of a tragic life that makes me care about his characters. Well done. I recommend his other novel mentioned above and look forward to his next one.
April 13, 2012
I liked the atmosphere this story sets. The gritty London streets were fascinating rather than depressing like I thought the story might become. The premise of following the life of a victim of Jack The Ripper was also done well. Although you know the fate of that character, it actually never overshadows the events in the tale, but it does contribute to the melancholy feeling of the story that I liked.
November 10, 2015
When first hearing about this book, I thought the idea of using the items found on the person of Jack the Ripper's 4th victim very intriguing.
The book did that and so much more. Alan M. Clark really showcases how well he can tell a story. There is no interest in treading anywhere near a typical Ripper tale. The items are used brilliantly as a guide into what could've been Catherine Eddowes life story. I found it quite moving, with strong, memorable characters throughout. Highly recommended.
The book did that and so much more. Alan M. Clark really showcases how well he can tell a story. There is no interest in treading anywhere near a typical Ripper tale. The items are used brilliantly as a guide into what could've been Catherine Eddowes life story. I found it quite moving, with strong, memorable characters throughout. Highly recommended.
September 1, 2014
Not a story about Jack the Ripper, but of the life of one of his victims. It really delves into what life was like for a women in London back then. I was intrigued and stayed up much too late because I wanted to see what would happen next. Obviously, she is murdered in the end, but that's only given about a paragraph worth of words. The story is about her life, not her death.
August 5, 2014
One of my favorite books of the last year. In Of Thimble and Threat, Clark examines the dismal life of Catherine Eddowes, the fourth victim of Jack the Ripper, through all the possessions she carried with her when she died. An interesting approach to historical fiction, and Clark is an amazing writer.
December 9, 2019
Das Buch erzählt von Catherine Eddowes, die als viertes Opfer von Jack the Ripper traurige Berühmtheit erlangte. Es handelt sich hier allerdings nicht um einen blutigen Thriller oder ein Buch über den Ripper, sondern um die dramatische Lebensgeschichte einer Frau, die versucht im viktorianischen London zu überleben. Das Leben damals war hart für Frauen, und wenn sie keinen Mann hatten der sie versorgte, blieben nicht viele Optionen, um sich und ihre Kinder durchzubringen. So landet auch Catherine irgendwann auf der Straße, fängt an zu trinken und hofft nur noch auf ein besseres Leben für ihre Tochter. Dabei steht in jedem Kapitel einer der Gegenstände, die bei Catherine Eddowes' Leichnam gefunden wurden, im Fokus.
Der Autor schafft es hervorragend, die Trostlosigkeit der damaligen Zeit einzufangen. Es wird nichts beschönigt, der Schmutz, die Armut und die Hoffnungslosigkeit der Menschen, vor allem der Frauen, sind allgegenwärtig. Aufgrund von Fehlentscheidungen, teilweise aber auch einfach nur Pech oder dem Umstand, eine Frau zu sein, rutscht Catherine immer tiefer ab, bis sie schließlich ihrem grausigen, aus ihrer Sicht vielleicht aber auch erlösenden Schicksal gegenübersteht.
Die Geschichte ist unglaublich fesselnd geschrieben und hat mich bis zum Ende nicht mehr losgelassen. Einzig die Übersetzung wirkt an mancher Stelle etwas ungelenk und weist auch den ein oder anderen Fehler auf, der mich schon mal über einen Satz stolpern ließ. Fazit: ein packendes Zeitportrait, welches das viktorianischen London zur Zeit des industriellen Umbruchs anhand des dramatischen Schicksals einer unglücklichen Frau hautnah zum Leben erweckt.
Der Autor schafft es hervorragend, die Trostlosigkeit der damaligen Zeit einzufangen. Es wird nichts beschönigt, der Schmutz, die Armut und die Hoffnungslosigkeit der Menschen, vor allem der Frauen, sind allgegenwärtig. Aufgrund von Fehlentscheidungen, teilweise aber auch einfach nur Pech oder dem Umstand, eine Frau zu sein, rutscht Catherine immer tiefer ab, bis sie schließlich ihrem grausigen, aus ihrer Sicht vielleicht aber auch erlösenden Schicksal gegenübersteht.
Die Geschichte ist unglaublich fesselnd geschrieben und hat mich bis zum Ende nicht mehr losgelassen. Einzig die Übersetzung wirkt an mancher Stelle etwas ungelenk und weist auch den ein oder anderen Fehler auf, der mich schon mal über einen Satz stolpern ließ. Fazit: ein packendes Zeitportrait, welches das viktorianischen London zur Zeit des industriellen Umbruchs anhand des dramatischen Schicksals einer unglücklichen Frau hautnah zum Leben erweckt.
February 4, 2021
I read a translated edition of this book some time ago, and while it gave a compelling account of a woman's life in Victorian London, the sometimes faulty and inapt translation left a lot to be desired. Therefore, I was determined to reread the book in its original voice, and I'm very glad I did just that. The writing was smooth and haunting, bringing to life the sad, cold, bleak and filthy atmosphere of those past times perfectly. Highest recommendation!
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March 20, 2012from publisher
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