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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced
Loved the premise of examining the lives of the victims. Also a great way to learn about the oppressive systems at play in the lives of Victorian women. Each case study felt similar which could get repetitive to read towards the end. Not the fault of the author and says more about how poor women’s lives were limited and often led to common situations/outcomes (alcoholism, illness, familial death, domestic violence, homelessness). I do think the missed opportunity was in the conclusion. The synthesis focused on how the assumptions of authority (police, media, officials) saw poor and women in general as weak, dirty, unintelligent, and unvirtuous. These attitudes aided in the inaccurate framing of a “prostitute killer” even when only two were ever confirmed as such. Thus marking these women to all but the residents of Whitechapel as disposable (attitudes about sex work have changed little since) and allowing Jack the Ripper to live in infamy today divorced from the horrendous of violence. I think the parallel between this and today’s true crime sensation is apt. Violence, often against poor women, is sensationalized without consent for people uncontested to profit off of. The way the media, wether legacy or new forms like podcasts, use women and their pain to make money is still happening and it would be cool to compare then to now. Overall, I enjoyed the look into an era I haven’t explored much and the perspectives of women from a standing which has been misrepresented in the history books. Was looking for more analysis instead of a recounting, but was laid out well and incredibly well researched.
-Noticed the similarities between this and Pandoras Jar and Divine Might: a retelling of known stores from the women’s perspective (could maybe throw in the odyssey too as it was the first time being translated by a woman).
-Noticed the similarities between this and Pandoras Jar and Divine Might: a retelling of known stores from the women’s perspective (could maybe throw in the odyssey too as it was the first time being translated by a woman).
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
A tragic story of much more than their murders. It speaks to the harsh reality of life for women in the 19C where having no safety, security and stability within the family home, it quickly devolves into poverty , homelessness and for many, turning to prostitution. Rejected by society, sometimes by family, these women ended up vulnerable to addiction, abuse and ultimately their death.
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dark
informative
slow-paced
i’m one to admit that i am not a fan of nonfiction, but this book is definitely an important read that i would recommend to everyone. even if you aren’t a nonfiction fan like myself.
this book is haunting and devastating. we are following the canonical five victims of jack the ripper and finding out their identities — were they really just prostitutes?
if there was a word to describe the book, it would be ‘anger’. i could feel the anger and the need to tell the world that these women that were killed weren’t ‘just prostitutes’ but they had their individual identities, stories, struggles, families. as a reader, i felt angry at the incompetence of the police and the journalists back in the day: the lazy deductions made, the want to have a sensational stories on print, all that contributed to these five women’s lives being erased and just labeled as ‘prostitutes’. the state of the patriarchal society and misogyny was another thing that made me constantly frustrated and unjustified on behalf of the women, and it just made me really angry.
i really think that this is an important piece of history that everyone should know, especially those who developed interest in jack the ripper.
this book is haunting and devastating. we are following the canonical five victims of jack the ripper and finding out their identities — were they really just prostitutes?
if there was a word to describe the book, it would be ‘anger’. i could feel the anger and the need to tell the world that these women that were killed weren’t ‘just prostitutes’ but they had their individual identities, stories, struggles, families. as a reader, i felt angry at the incompetence of the police and the journalists back in the day: the lazy deductions made, the want to have a sensational stories on print, all that contributed to these five women’s lives being erased and just labeled as ‘prostitutes’. the state of the patriarchal society and misogyny was another thing that made me constantly frustrated and unjustified on behalf of the women, and it just made me really angry.
i really think that this is an important piece of history that everyone should know, especially those who developed interest in jack the ripper.
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
So good to focus on the victims. Stark reminder about our own social setting and expectations.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced