Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

30 reviews

jessi_lou95's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Minor: Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Terminal illness, and Trafficking

jhbandcats's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Classism, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Murder

taylasreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Addiction, Grief, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Infidelity, Infertility, Domestic abuse, and Sexism

abi_sarah's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

An expertly written documentary of the lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper. The amount of research that went into writing this book is clear from the offset and the writing is engaging, emotional and empathetic. You really start to grow attached to the women and feel a profound sadness and heartfelt sympathies for the way society dictated that they lived their lives and subsequently the end that met them. 

Hallie Rubenhold really sets the scene of Victorian London and effortlessly introduces each of the victims with the societal norms and prejudices which forced them - in most cases - to live largely unhappy lives. She describes what it’s like to live in workhouses and what little privacy there is for those who live in them - perhaps explaining why now we value privacy so much as a society.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Addiction

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Drug use

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, and Grief

tlholmes's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Women’s history, non fiction 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Trafficking, Classism, Death, Grief, Sexism, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Alcoholism

thinkingcatss's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Classism, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Death, Drug use, Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Medical content, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Child death, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence

eve81's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Infidelity, Murder, Grief, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Classism, and Sexism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Death, Murder, and Trafficking

gabriella_brown's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Child death, Classism, Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Pregnancy, Trafficking, and Suicide

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Abandonment, Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Trafficking, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, War, Classism, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Blood, Grief, Infidelity, Addiction, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Terminal illness, and Mental illness