The legendary Jack the Ripper murdered as many as ten women between the years of 1887 and 1891 in the East End of London. The debate over his true identity has never been resolved. This unbiased history of the various suspects, including two women, will give any reader a grounding on which to make an informed decision on the identity. Suspects include influential artist Walter Sickert, children's author Lewis Carroll, Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill (father of Winston Churchill), and others ranging from doctors and politicians to wandering lunatics.

The encyclopedic entries provide such features as major events and other biographical data in a suspect's life, a complete case chronology for particular suspects, and an analysis of the theories. The entries describe the research and reasons that have contributed to the suspect's positive or negative candidacy as a viable suspect. Within these pages may lie the true Jack the Ripper--the author places all the available facts before the reader.