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libraryofdreaming's review against another edition
5.0
"It is only by bringing these women back to life that we can silence the Ripper and what he represents. By permitting them to speak, by attempting to understand their experiences and see their humanity, we can restore to them the respect and compassion to which they are entitled. The victims of Jack the Ripper were never ‘just prostitutes’; they were daughters, wives, mothers, sisters and lovers. They were women. They were human beings, and surely that, in itself, is enough."
amy_j18's review against another edition
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.0
This was basically a compilation of biographies of each of the victims. It was an informative look at the infamous murders in a humanizing way of acknowledging the victims life stories.
jenmangler's review against another edition
2.0
Rubenhold focuses on the women's lives, not their deaths. She doesn't go into the gory detail of their murders the way every other source does. That doesn't mean it's not a sad story. The lives of working class and poor women in London in the late 1800s was so grim. There's an awful lot of speculation, and that really kept me from giving it 3 stars.
mchrty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.0
a fascinating, informative, and well-researched book that delves into the lives of the five women that were killed by jack the ripper, ultimately disproving the belief that he was a "killer of prostitutes," as it was commonly believed. in reality, only one of them described herself as such. circumstances, such as alcoholism and poverty, did unfortunately lead the women to their demise :,(
this book was so hard to get through at times because of how badly women were treated during the victorian era, but i had to keep reading 'cause we can't keep letting men be praised for being murderers 🙄
richard1510's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
ninasbooks57's review against another edition
4.0
“The cards were stacked against Polly, Annie, Elisabeth, Kate, and Mary Jane from birth. They began their lives in deficit. Not only were most of them born into working-class families, they were born female.” Such a sad background of these 5 women. It is sad to see how extremely worthless these women were labeled. Now a days there are programs that would help them but in London in the 1880s they were just cast out and left to fend for themselves. One thread that ran through all their stories was alcohol abuse- that alone can ruin lives. I gave it a four because it was hard keeping all the names straight. I guess the only names used in London 1880s were- George, John, William, Elisabeth, or Mary!!
Very good read!
Very good read!