yossy_cookie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

3.5

An interesting look at the victims of Jack the Ripper. This is not true crime, there is nothing at all about the killings but this focuses on the lives of the women. It is an interesting insight into what life was like in Victorian London and the attention to detail is superb. It is, however, slow paced and quite heavy going 

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will_cat_books's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

5.0


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jhbandcats's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

What a tragic and depressing, albeit illuminating, book about the horrors of poverty in the late 19th C. We’ve all been told that Jack the Ripper killed prostitutes. This study shows how these morally superior judgments have come to inform everything we know about the case. 

The author focuses on the women, only referring to Jack the Ripper as their murderer. She has done extensive research to find out who these women were and what their lives were like, such that they ended up dead in the gutter. All these women came from working class families but because they were born female, the deck was stacked against them. The smallest setback could literally ruin someone’s life. 

By viewing these women with compassion instead of condemnation, we can see who they really were. 

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taylasreading's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0


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tlholmes's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Women’s history, non fiction 

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krisha's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0


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eve81's review against another edition

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msbedelia's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0


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caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.0


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gabriella_brown's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This book is a beautifully written and angry exploration of the lives of the women murdered by Jack the Ripper. It de-bunks common misconceptions about the victims and gives an intelligent insight into their experiences as working class women in Victorian London.

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