Stephen Knight (author)

For the British academic and writer, see Stephen Thomas Knight. For the Welsh poet, see Stephen Knight (poet).
Stephen Knight (author)
Born 26 September 1951
Hainault, Essex
Died 25 July 1985 (aged 33)
Carradale, Argyll
Occupation Journalist
Language English
Nationality English
Period 1976-1984
Subject Crime
Notable works Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution
The Brotherhood
Spouse Margot Kenrick (1976-1980)
Children 1

Stephen Knight (26 September 1951 – 25 July 1985) was an English journalist and author.[1] He is best remembered for the books Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (1976) and The Brotherhood (1984).[2]

Life and works

After leaving school at 16, Knight went to work as a salesman for the London Electricity Board in Chigwell.[3] At 18 he got a job as a reporter on the Ilford Pictorial.[3] He then moved to the Hornchurch Echo.[3]

Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (1976) suggested that the Ripper murders were part of a conspiracy between Freemasons and the British Royal Family, a claim which is not accepted by historians.[4] Nevertheless, the book became a bestseller, and was the inspiration for several works of fiction, among them the film Murder by Decree (1978) by Bob Clark and the graphic novel From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell.

The Brotherhood (1984) was published at a time when Freemasonry was coming under increasing scrutiny in the United Kingdom. Knight's last book before his death was The Killing of Justice Godfrey, exploring the death of Edmund Berry Godfrey in 1678, which had caused widespread anti-Catholic sentiment in England.

In 1983 he became a religious follower of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and, as a part of this interest, took the name Swami Puja Debal.[1] He began to experience epileptic seizures in 1977, and in 1980 was discovered to have a brain tumour while taking part in a documentary for the Horizon television series. The tumour was removed, but returned in 1984. Knight died in 1985 at the age of 33.[1]

Bibliography

Non-fiction

Fiction

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Mr Stephen Knight". The Times (London). 26 July 1985. p. 16.
  2. ↑ Freund, Charles Paul (1 July 2000). "Unaccepted Masons". Reason (Escondido, CA).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Adam Curtis "Suspicious Minds", BBC Adam Curtis blog, 2 Aprikl 2014
  4. ↑ Sengupta, Kim (18 April 1998). "Ripper Fans Take Stab at Naming Evil Jack". The Independent (London).

External links