I was reluctant to read this book. Slogging through an 801-page tome on a Victorian serial killer is really something I could do without. The first thing that snagged my attention among impressively adulatory reviews was descriptions of “the greatest cover-up in British history” along with all manner of institutional & establishment corruption & crime concealment. There was also much bellowing about the meticulous detailing of Victorian Britain/London, an extraordinarily unpleasant era where the full & untrammeled extremes of Tory depravity were regnant & rampant (the very first chapter actually opens with a 1983 quote from Margaret Thatcher – “We must return to Victorian values”). But perhaps the most persuasive feature was the promise of its penetrating scrutiny of Freemasonry – that horrible, weird & disturbing clandestine occultism that plays a small, or large part in much of the world’s evil & corruption. The quality of the writing, extent of the research & the very important fact that it was no quack, sensationalist or conspiracy fabulist writing the book, & therefore a reliable source of information on the topic, made it a compulsory read (despite my hesitancy due to its size…I got a lotta’ books to read!). it was a good choice, though the strength of its contents has left me affected.
I literally will never look at the world the same way again.
The author, Bruce Robinson, is probably considered a national treasure (if not, he must be damn close to this title). He is probably best known for the cult Brit flick ‘Withnail and I’, which he both directed & scribed the screenplay for. I think it would be fair to assume that this illustrious distinction afforded him the, shall we say, “protection” that was necessary to produce & publish such a work.
This is a very profound book, no matter which way you look at it. Revelatory. The allegations are monumental, though unsurprising. Crucially & most resoundingly, everything is supported by assiduously forensic facts. There is a lot of garbage out there about the Masons & many other powerful entities exerting supreme undue influence from covert positions of varying secrecy. Disbelief & dubiety are often in opposition to polarities of excessive grasping at ‘any & all’ nefarious doings/existence with an unrealistic certainty that’s often pretty raving. People know they are being lied to & know that massive nastiness is going on – so they can often become overly paranoid & accept any report, theory, canard that inculpates the offending bodies – in any way! This is a much larger conversation/dissertation which I won’t slip into now, but for immense depth, clarity & intense analysis of the Masons, They All Love Jack is the most informative & revealing thing I have ever read by far.
It’s difficult to know if this book is intended to be more about Jack the Ripper, the Masons or corruption & cover-up. All three are basically inseparable/one of the same. Under the guise of “busting the ripper”, something much bigger has been achieved. Not that revealing the Ripper is a small feat by any means… Bruce’s research & the avalanche of facts is gargantuan. Everything has to rely on facts, & they have to be shared & detailed immaculately. There are hundreds of pictures also, from autopsy/crime scene photos, tons of Jacks taunting letters, masses of masonic portraits & paraphernalia and reams of evidence based materials & cuttings. I have lost track of the original review, but recall that it took Bruce over a decade to research & produce this epic codex. The results are blatant.
If you’re wondering whether a convincing candidate for the Ripper is cornered – the man is served under a high-performance spotlight. Painstaking evidence of his every move is heaped-on until it becomes mountainous. It’s a staggering cache & display of hyper diligence & investigative overdrive. The candidate, Michael Maybrick! A massively esteemed singer/pianist & composer (& of course, a Mason) who was at the high end of London’s elite. His fame was absolutely tremendous, yet he has been bizarrely & unexplainably all but scrubbed into expurgation by pretty much all official records & documentation as Robinson reports. He must of really’ really’ really done something of stupendous magnitude to undergo such exceptional redaction.
From the specific perspective of police corruption & force criminality, this book is off the scales. Then again, every angle – from the judiciary to the media (sound familiar?) lends its efforts to conceal this vertex of malevolence & super criminality.
This book really is stand-alone. It’s also easier to understand the scale of harm committed & the madness exhibited by the corporate, financial, political, policing & intelligence sectors when you realize what kind of shit is, & has, been behind this monstrosity for so long.
In a rare occurrence, the Free Masons were dragged out of their brackish crypt recently into the public spotlight – first for having “too much influence” & “blocking reform” in the higher echelons of the police force (this accusation came from Steve White, then chair of the Police Federation) & then for secretly running two lodges at Westminster dedicated to MP’s & “political journalists” (New Welcome Lodge & Gallery Lodge). Unimaginable. Insane. Preposterous. Corrupt as sin. After a few weeks of media attention & the most pathetic, perfidy-inspiring defensive dribble issued by Masonic spokesmen from the United Lodge of England (roughly amounting to – ‘please blindly trust us! We are very ethical people who just like hiding & being deliberately furtive for the fun of it!’) the story/debate vanishes. The worst event of recent, which absolutely smacks of Masonry, is the Poppy Worthington case (hunt down David Collins recent article for the Sunday Times on this barely believable & vilest of crimes), which has only just – in one of the most extraordinary examples of fantastical injustice & open cover-up/corruption I have ever seen, been thrown out by the freaks at the Crown Prosecution Service (more adequately termed the ‘Clown Prostitution Circus’). This comes on the back of Theresa May’s disastrous, now utterly discredited & unfit for purpose Historic Child Sexual Abuse Inquiry (a cover-up masquerading as a public inquiry).
– Heart of fucking darkness.
Below is a section from ‘They All Love Jack’ that details the Masonic Oath (taken by all Masons under the threat of death should it be broken). Now think of this, undeclared but active in positions of public office (or private for that matter). To say the very least, the implications for a ‘conflict of interest’ are indefensible in the abject. This is absolute treason against all fellow human beings & it is the definition of conspiracy.
“I xxx of my own free will and accord, I promise before the Great Architect of the Universe and this right Worshipful Lodge, dedicated to St John, do hereby and herein solemnly swear that I will always hale, conceal, and never reveal any of the secrets or mysteries of Freemasonry that shall be delivered to me now, or at any time hereafter, except it be to a true and lawful Brother, or in a just and lawful Lodge of Brothers and Fellows, him or them whom I shall find to be such, after just trial and due Examination. I furthermore do swear that I will not write it, print it, cut it, paint it, stint it, mark it, stain it [and presumably photograph it] or cause it to be done, upon anything movable or immovable, under canopy of Heaven whereby it may become legible or ineligible or the least appearance of the character of a letter, whereby the secret Art may be unlawfully obtained. All this I swear with strong and steady resolution to perform the same without hesitation, mental reservation, or self evasion of mind in anyway whatsoever.”
Author-Bruce Robinson
Publisher-4th Estate