Stephen Knight (26 September 1951 – 25 July 1985) was a British journalist and author. He is best remembered for the books '' Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution'' (1976) and ''The Brotherhood'' (1984).

Life and works

Born in Hainault in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

as Stephen Victor Knight, he attended West Hatch Technical High School, at nearby

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Lond ...

. He was not successful academically,Obituary for Knight
on Casebook: Jack the Ripper by Richard Whittington-Egan and after leaving school at 16 Knight went to work as a salesman for the London Electricity Board in Chigwell.Adam Curti
"Suspicious Minds"
BBC Adam Curtis blog, 2 April 2014 At 18 he got a job as a reporter on the ''Ilford Pictorial'' before moving to the ''Hornchurch Echo''. His book ''Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution'' (1976) suggested that the Ripper murders were part of a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

between Freemasons and the British Royal Family, a claim which is not accepted by historians. Nevertheless, the book became a bestseller, and was the inspiration for several works of fiction, among them the film ''

Murder by Decree ''Murder by Decree'' is a 1979 mystery thriller film directed by Bob Clark. It features the Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who are embroiled in the investigation surrounding the real-life 1 ...

'' (1979) by Bob Clark and the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

From Hell ''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions. Set during the Whitechapel murders of ...

'' by

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

and

Eddie Campbell Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a British comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Chicago. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of ''From Hell'' (written by Alan Moore), Campbell is also the creator of the semi-au ...

. In 1980, he featured in a documentary film based on his book, produced by R.W.B. Production Australia. ''The Brotherhood'' (1984) was published at a time when

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

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 Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey (23 December 1621 – 12 October 1678) was an English magistrate whose mysterious death caused anti-Catholic uproar in England. Contemporary documents also spell the name Edmundbury Godfrey. Early life Edmund Berry Godf ...

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. He began to experience

epileptic seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

s 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 July 1985 at the age of 33 while staying with friends at Carradale in Argyllshire. He was buried there.

Private life

In 1976 he married Margot Kenrick, who had two daughters, Natasha and Nicole, from a previous relationship. In the same year the couple had a daughter together, Nanouska Maria Knight.Nanouska Maria Knight in the England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916-2005
- Ancestry.com The couple later separated, and in November 1980 Knight announced that, when his divorce came through, he would marry Lesley Newson, a 28-year-old researcher on '' Horizon''. However, instead the couple later also separated. His partner during his last years was Barbara Mary Land.

Works

Non-fiction

*''Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution'' (1976) *''The Brotherhood'' (1984) *''The Killing of Justice Godfrey: an investigation into England's most remarkable unsolved murder'' (1984)

Fiction

*''Requiem at Rogano'' (1979)

Film

* ''Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (1980)''

References

External links

Stephen Knight obituary
*
Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (1980) on IMDb
' *'' Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution (1980) on the Internet Archive'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Stephen 1951 births 1985 deaths Anti-Masonry Deaths from brain tumor English non-fiction crime writers English non-fiction writers People from Hainault English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers Rajneesh movement Burials in Scotland