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What Alice Knew: A Most Curious Tale Of Henry James & Jack The Ripper (2010)

by Paula Marantz Cohen(Favorite Author)

3.31 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1402243553 (ISBN13: 9781402243554)

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Sourcebooks Landmark

review 1: I had high hopes for this mystery. Gaslight London, Jack the Ripper, the famous James family with walk-on by John Sargent and Oscar Wilde et al. But none of the personalities ever emerged as distinctive or compelling and in spite of the plot (let's find Jack) it was oddly static and the story progressed at a glacial pace. The author does have a way with description, and there were passages that were very evocative of the London streets and dinner parties but they were snapshot.
review 2: I wasn't that impressed with this book. It was an interesting premise but I eventually lost patience with sister Alice and her bedridden state. It seemed abysmally stereotypical that Alice stayed home in bed and her brothers got to have all the action. Henry comes off as kin... moreda stodgy and bumbling while Alice falls in love with Sickert. Which brings me to my next issue, as Sickert seems to be the popular fall guy for the Ripper murders -- especially if you have read Patricia Cornwall's nonfiction book. My issue is that Cohen seems to use the same evidence and no really delve any deeper into Sickert's past or motives. As another reviewer put it, Newsome is a red herring added at the last minute. An easy read but rather unsatisfactory. less

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