Clarence: The Life of H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864-1892) - Hardcover

Harrison, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0491007221 ISBN 13: 9780491007221

Publisher: W.H. Allen, 1972

Synopsis

In this remarkable book, the first serious Life of Edward VII's elder son - and heir to the throne, who died to soon to succeed - Michael Harrison has combined his outstanding qualities both as historian and detective. Official silence in the matter of Prince Eddy's private life, with the consequent inability to consult official archives, forced Harrison to uncover details of Eddy's life without the advantage of any but the most trivial existing material. What he eventually unearthed and presents in this unique book will positively fascinate the reader. Late in 1970 an extraordinary story ran round the world that the Duke of Clarence might have been Jack the Ripper. In testing the validity of this rumour, Harrison has come up with some quite startling information about this notorious homicidal maniac. He actually identified and names the Ripper, explaining both the murderer and the motives for his horrible crimes. Not only is the mystery of the Ripper cleared up; Harrison goes further to tell the true story behind one of the most notorious court-cases of the last century: that revolving round the existence of the male brothel in Cleveland Street. Harrison's researches prove that the facts were very different indeed from the reports which, over the past eighty years, have been unquestioningly accepted as truth. Sir Philip Magnus described the death of the Duke of Clarence as 'a merciful act of providence'. Whilst agreeing with Sir Philip that Eddy could hardly have borne the responsibilities of what was then a world-empire, and concealing none of his faults, Michael Harrison treats Clarence in a most sympathetic manner. This is not a chronique scandaleuse, for all the vice and crime necessarily described in Harrison's unique narrative; it is the compassionate story of a weak, charming character endowed with good looks, high rank and a fascination for both men and women, a doomed character whose self-indulgence involved far too many in scandal and tragedy.

Edition details

• Publisher: W.H. Allen
• Publication date: 1972
• ISBN 10: 0491007221
• ISBN 13: 9780491007221
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 253