Reviews

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

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!

ecolh's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Amazing to hear their stories and how society took the easy way out in how they portrayed the victims. Very informative about what life was like in Victorian London as well

aminasbookshelf's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

3.5

rampaiges's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

3.5

raebo1979's review against another edition

It didn't hold my attention enough. Once I got to the third person I was confusing the women and their stories. I did appreciate the obvious research into the time period relating to women.

aah6ay's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

cardinalgirl75's review against another edition

5.0

I'm going to admit that I've probably read a fair share of true crime books that delve more into the crime and the psyche of the killer than ever really examine the life of the victim.  Hallie Rubenhold, in this incredible book about the five women murdered by Jack the Ripper, dares us to question what's long been considered settled fact--that they were all prostitutes (only two were ever officially documented to have engaged in the sex trade, and there's strong reason to doubt that either of them was still in the profession at the time of their deaths).  Rubenhold presents a picture of what working-class England was like for women in the late 1880s, from having little opportunity for education because they were sent out to work in their mid-teens to the repeated pregnancies that often sapped their health, whether they were married or not.  But most of all, she honors the lives of the five women that have been almost completely ignored by history, overlooked as nothing more than the footnote to the far more interesting story of the man who killed them.

obiathus's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0