Stalking Jack the Ripper

Aunt Amelia and Uncle Jonathan act as Audrey’s surrogate mother and father, respectively. What values does each try to impart to Audrey, and how does she negotiate the differences between these two diverging value sets?

From the murderer’s leather apron to Audrey’s flowing skirts, clothing is highly symbolic of character and personality in the novel. Choose a character and analyze how their clothing represents them in terms of their class, gender, occupation, and personality.

Choose three descriptions of weather and discuss how they contribute to the mood, atmosphere, plot, and themes in the scenes in which they appear.

Describe the ways in which Audrey and Thomas Cresswell conform with and deviate from the norms of their class and gender. How does their relation to class and gender affect their relationship?

How does the portrayal of Jack the Ripper in the novel compare with the historical figure of Jack the Ripper? What liberties does Maniscalco take with the historical facts surrounding the murders and why?

In literature, a “red herring” is a misleading piece of information or false clue that an author incorporates to distract readers from the truth or lead them to make incorrect conclusions. What “red herrings” does Maniscalco plant and what effect do they have? Are there any true clues to who the real murderer is? Audrey faces an unknown foe throughout most of the narrative—how does concealing the identity of the murderer affect narrative tension?

The novel takes place in 1888. What were the standards for medical practice and mental health treatment at that time? How are those practices viewed today in terms of their ethics and effectiveness?

Comment on the symbolism of Lord Wadsworth paying for Audrey to study in Romania. How does his character change after his discovery of Nathaniel’s guilt? In your opinion, would he have made this decision if someone other than Nathaniel had been identified as the murderer? Why or why not?