A few weeks ago, I finished a book called Stalking Jack the Ripper by  Kerri Maniscalco. The historical fiction book recounts a mortician-in-training trying to solve the crime, using her wits to do so. One of the places where a body was found, however, was Scotland Yard. This is where General Lestrade from Sherlock Holmes works. It got me thinking; could Sherlock Holmes catch Jack the Ripper?

When surveying my family and friends, every single one of them said Sherlock Holmes.

“He’s Brilliant.” My dad said.

“But he needs clues to find the culprit. Jack the Ripper left nearly none.” I responded

“He can work with what he has to pull it off.”

I disagree. I believe that Jack the Ripper would be able to escape. I think that, despite his best efforts, Sherlock Holmes’ methods would work against him in this case.

On September 25th, 1888, Jack the Ripper  mailed his most credible letter to the press, detailing how he would mutilate the body of his next victim. This letter was not published until after that murder had taken place, showing that truly, Jack the Ripper had sent this letter. On top of that, the Grammar and language used in the letter were poor, showing that the homicidal maniac was most likely uneducated. Despite this, most of the suspects, even to this day, are educated men ranging from dentists to eccentric millionaires. His time frames were erratic, yet the murders always occurred in the same fashion; there was no doubt this was the work of a serial killer, but no one knew how to track him.

Enter: Sherlock Holmes. Born in 1854, the detective would have been in his 30s, his investigative prime during the string of murders. His stories of 221B have regaled people for ages. Some of his well known stories include A Study in Scarlet, The Hound of Baskerville, and The Last Bow. With his reputation for manifesting something from nothing, he has to be the man for the job, right? With a murder taking place in Scotland Yard, a serial killer now operating in his backyard, the Holmes and Watson team was sure to make a move.

Sherlock Holmes is a Genius. For that, there is no question. But, his particular brand of genius would not help him here. He has a very specific way of deducing what he can from what he knows. And, believe it or not, it has failed him before. In A Scandal in Bohemia, Sherlock Holmes is outwitted and outplayed several times by the woman named Irene Adler.

Irene Adler is a very peculiar woman, especially for her time period. She was a talented opera singer living on her own, who occasionally made midnight visits to the King of Bohemia.(the crown prince) When a photo is taken of the two together, the King turns to Sherlock Holmes after being defeated twice by her already. When she realizes the famed Sherlock Holmes is onto her, she dresses up as a man and tails him to confirm it, before leaving town with the photo included. So how was Irene Adler able to beat the amazing Sherlock Holmes? By being herself.

 

As mentioned before, Adler was not a normal woman. She operated outside of what society deemed woman should and would do. Sherlock’s methods to catch people bank on them playing to these norms so that they fall into his traps. Adler was not normal, but she also accepted the fact that she operated outside of these bounds. She used them to her advantage. That is how Sherlock Holmes was defeated.

Back to the concept of Jack the Ripper, this is exactly how he would evade Sherlock Holmes. At night, he stalks the East Side, killing women at random, but is completely normal in the day. His timing is erratic at best( a day between some, months between others), yet he was still able to go about his daily life, stirring no suspicion to him, even when he gave a letter providing more context about the person. While most people would think this odd behavior would make it easier for Sherlock Holmes to catch him, its that very same odd behavior, if leaned into, that could protect him from a very specific brand of genius.

Obviously, Sherlock Holmes is a completely fictional character, dreamt up by the brilliant mind of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Jack the Ripper is not. But, I do think that this is an important reminder: nothing and no one is infallible, even one of the most brilliant characters known to man.

 

Sources:

Jack the Ripper timeline: https://www.jack-the-ripper.org/timeline.htm

A Scandal In Bohemia by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle