Spring Heeled Jack: Leaping into the Ripper's Shadow

So what is Brought to Heel about?

In case you didn't find us by TikTok, Twitter or some other form of social media where we have been sharing our teasers for the first Order of Athena book, here is a little tid bit of what it's about. The Order of Athena series will be a series of seven books set in London during the late Victorian era. Our two main characters, Alix and Thea, one a lady doctor, and one a member of the aristocracy, set about investigating a series of attacks on young women around London. Jack the Ripper is supposed to be gone, so who is committing these crimes?

So who was Spring Heeled Jack?

Spring Heeled Jack was a mysterious figure who terrorised London repeatedly between the years of 1837 and the early 19 hundreds. He was said to be able to leap over coaches, have claws that gouged at people he attacked and breathed fire into the night. He both pre-dates, and surpasses the infamous other Jack known to London, Jack the Ripper, though in real life it seemed he never killed, only injured and terrorised the women who were his victims.

As the antagonist of our story, Alix must not only figure out who is behind all of the current day attacks, but ensure that neither she nor her new found friend Thea fall pray to the demon leaping through the shadows of Victorian London.

Spring Heeled Jack News Paper Clipping

Why did we pick Spring Heeled Jack for our story?

Spring Heeled Jack was a figure of mystery who people today still question in terms of whether he has any connection to the Supernatural or not. Writing in the Gothic genre we wanted to straddle that line of 'is there something supernatural going on here' or is it simply people being awful. The news surrounding the attacks spanned almost the entire 19th century which seemed perfect for our story, as we were able to incorporate multiple genres and their experiences into the story. The real life hubub that surrounded the mysterious attacks set the stage perfectly for our series.