From Hell by Alan Moore

picture by amazon.com.

From wikipedia:
From Hell is a comic book series by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell speculating upon the identity and motives of Jack the Ripper. The title is taken from the first words of the "From Hell" letter, which some authorities believe was an authentic message sent from the killer in 1888. The work is dense, multilayered and immensely detailed; the collected edition is 572 pages long.

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, marries and fathers a child with Annie Crook, a shop worker from the East End of London; she is unaware of her husband's royal position. Queen Victoria becomes aware of the marriage, and has Albert separated forcibly from his wife, whom she then places in an asylum. Victoria then instructs her royal physician Sir William Gull to impair Annie's sanity, which he does by damaging or impairing her thyroid gland (In fact, Gull was the first to medically describe the state of hypothyroidism, calling it a 'cretinoid condition in adult women').

The potentially scandalous matter is resolved, until a group of prostitutes - Annie's friends - who are aware of the illegitimate child and its royal connections, attempt blackmail in order to pay off a gang of thugs who are threatening them. Gull is once again enlisted, this time to silence the group of women who are threatening the crown. The police are complicit in the crimes - they are granted prior knowledge of Gull's intentions, and are adjured not to interfere until the plot is completed.

From amazon:
From Hell is the story of Jack the Ripper, perhaps the most infamous man in the annals of murder. Detailing the events leading up to the Whitechapel killings and the cover-up that followed, From Hell is a meditation on the mind of a madman whose savagery and violence gave birth to the 20th century.

The serialized story, presented in its entirety in this volume, has garnered widespread attention from critics and scholars. Often regarded as one of the most significant graphic novels ever published, From Hell combines meticulous research with educated speculation, resulting in a masterpiece of historical fiction both compelling and terrifying. This new edition, which has been completely re-mastered, is certainly the finest edition of the book produced to date.

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