The popular image of Jack the Ripper may forever be seared into the public consciousness as the tall, sinister, silent stalker of the foggy East End alleyways, dressed in a long cloak and tall hat and holding a gladstone bag.

It was most certainly never like this in reality, but why does the image prevail and more to the point, where did it come from in the first place?

Jack the Ripper: The Making of the Myth examines the genesis of the modern iconography of Jack the Ripper and how simple interpretations in 1888, pushed and shaped by the media, have subesequently created an enduring icon of horror, folklore and in many cases, entertainment.

Illustrated and with extensive footnotes and references, this is the story of how Jack the Ripper has survived into the twenty-first century.