Jack the Ripper: Case Closed

London. 1894.

'I am not a detective, chief constable.'

'No, but you are a poet, a freemason and a man of the world. All useful qualifications for the business in hand.'

So says Police Chief Macnaghten to Oscar Wilde, in a Chelsea drawing room in the company of Arthur Conan Doyle. The business they are gathered to discuss is none other than the case of Jack the Ripper, the most notorious murderer in England.

And thus the three men set out to solve one of the world's most famous mysteries - the ultimate truth about the identity of Jack the Ripper.

CASE CLOSED is Arthur Conan Doyle's account of the events of 1894, the year of the return of Jack the Ripper. Based on Oscar Wilde's real-life friendship with Conan Doyle and the extraordinary but little-known fact that in 1894 the detective in charge of the Jack the Ripper investigations was Oscar Wilde's neighbour in Tite Street, Chelsea, this is a revelatory and gripping detective story, combining the intrigue of a classic murder mystery with a witty and compelling portrait of one of the greatest characters of the Victorian age.

“'Brandreth has poured his considerable familiarity with London into a witty fin-de-si”

'Gyles Brandreth and Oscar Wilde seem made for one another ... There is much here to enjoy ... the complex and nicely structured plot zips along' - Daily Telegraph on Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders

'One of the most intelligent, amusing and entertaining books of the year. If Oscar Wilde himself had been asked to write this book he could not have done it any better' - Alexander McCall Smith on Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders

'A carnival of cliff-hangers and fiendish twists-and-turns . . . The joy of the book, as with its predecessor, is the rounded and compelling presentation of the character of Wilde. The imaginary and the factual are woven together with devilish ingenuity. Brandreth also gives his hero speeches of great beauty and wisdom and humanity' - Sunday Express on Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death

'For me this whole series is a guilty pleasure: Brandreth's portrait of Oscar Wilde is entirely plausible; plots are ingenious; and the historical background is fascinating' - Scotsman

Gyles Brandreth is a writer, broadcaster, former MP and Government Whip - and one of Britain's most sought-after award ceremony hosts and after-dinner speakers. A reporter on The One Show on BBC1 and a regular on Radio 4's Just a Minute, his many books include The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries and the No 1 best-seller: The 7 Secrets of Happiness.

London. 1894. 'I am not a detective, chief constable.' 'No, but you are a poet, a freemason and a man of the world. All useful qualifications for the business in hand.' So says Police Chief Macnaghten to Oscar Wilde, in a Chelsea drawing room in the company of Arthur Conan Doyle. The business they are gathered to discuss is none other than the case of Jack the Ripper, the most notorious murderer in England.And thus the three men set out to solve one of the world's most famous mysteries - the ultimate truth about the identity of Jack the Ripper. CASE CLOSED is Arthur Conan Doyle's account of the events of 1894, the year of the return of Jack the Ripper. Based on Oscar Wilde's real-life friendship with Conan Doyle and the extraordinary but little-known fact that in 1894 the detective in charge of the Jack the Ripper investigations was Oscar Wilde's neighbour in Tite Street, Chelsea, this is a revelatory and gripping detective story, combining the intrigue of a classic murder mystery with a witty and compelling portrait of one of the greatest characters of the Victorian age.

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