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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
medium-paced
informative
sad
slow-paced
A nonfiction account of the women who lost their lives to Jack the Ripper.
🔪
Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for being the victims of the slaying that occurred in London, 1888 at the hands of the never-caught murderer Jack the Ripper. They each had lives before their deaths made them infamous. Historian Hallie Rubenhold shares their stories before Jack the Ripper ended them.
🔪
Having been obsessed with the story of Jack the Ripper after taking the tour in London this summer, I thought this book would help feed my new obsession, but unfortunately I found it dry, like most nonfiction I read. I want it told with drama, intrigue, along with the history elements. I think I need a podcast instead of a true crime book. I also found the author’s research lacking and her assumptions leaning towards fiction more often than not.
CW: death, murderer, prostitution, medical content, blood, alcohol, alcoholism, dismemberment, body horror, sexual assault, homelessness, poverty, classism
🔪
Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for being the victims of the slaying that occurred in London, 1888 at the hands of the never-caught murderer Jack the Ripper. They each had lives before their deaths made them infamous. Historian Hallie Rubenhold shares their stories before Jack the Ripper ended them.
🔪
Having been obsessed with the story of Jack the Ripper after taking the tour in London this summer, I thought this book would help feed my new obsession, but unfortunately I found it dry, like most nonfiction I read. I want it told with drama, intrigue, along with the history elements. I think I need a podcast instead of a true crime book. I also found the author’s research lacking and her assumptions leaning towards fiction more often than not.
CW: death, murderer, prostitution, medical content, blood, alcohol, alcoholism, dismemberment, body horror, sexual assault, homelessness, poverty, classism
dark
informative
sad
fast-paced
This book was recommended to me by a number of people and I can see why. It was a challenging read due to the subject matter, but was handled magnificently, with tact and sympathy for these women who were labelled ‘prostitutes’ merely to fit a convenient narrative. The situations in which these poor women found themselves, for a variety of reasons, were brought to life in searing detail, with the sights, sounds and smells of Victorian London and surrounding areas brought into sharp relief. The hardships these women faced, merely because they were born women, is inconceivable to our modern society.
If you are looking for a book on the crimes of so called Jack the Ripper, this is not for you. He and his crimes are barely mentioned, which is as it should be – they should not define these women. They were wives and mothers and daughters and sisters; they had their own stories and struggles; they had their reasons for finding themselves in Whitechapel at this unfortunate moment in history, but they should be remembered as people first and foremost. They should not be collateral damage in a mythologised narrative of some kind of anti-hero.
If you are looking for a book on the crimes of so called Jack the Ripper, this is not for you. He and his crimes are barely mentioned, which is as it should be – they should not define these women. They were wives and mothers and daughters and sisters; they had their own stories and struggles; they had their reasons for finding themselves in Whitechapel at this unfortunate moment in history, but they should be remembered as people first and foremost. They should not be collateral damage in a mythologised narrative of some kind of anti-hero.
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Meticulously researched, The Five brings Polly, Anne, Kate, Elisabeth, and Mary Jane to life, beyond being simply victims of brutal serial killings.
It took me an age to finish this, as for some reason I put it aside for almost two years.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book, it gave Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane their dignity back, and most importantly it didn’t dwell on their deaths. Consequently their lives define them; their deaths do not.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book, it gave Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane their dignity back, and most importantly it didn’t dwell on their deaths. Consequently their lives define them; their deaths do not.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced