A review by kythera
The Covent Garden Ladies: Pimp General Jack & The Extraordinary Story of Harris' List by Hallie Rubenhold

3.0

I really enjoyed The Five, which leant a lot of needed compassion to the women of the ripper case, as well as bringing to bear some strong historical analysis. This is, I think, an earlier piece of writing, and I found it much much harder to read, perhaps because of its focus on unremittingly horrible men, and the casual exploitation they undertook on a daily basis. This made me both angry and revolted in a way that also made me not want to read more about them. There’s also an odd number given at the start of the book which I think I misread (and I didn’t want to go back for it), but if true, meant they virtually the entire female population of london was involved in the sex trade (fairly sure therefore, they this was my error, not the author’s). But realising that I just didn’t want to find out more pushed me to also realise that the whole historical period was just grim, and still full of men who cheerfully think fame, importance and credit is due to them, despite their vile behaviour. So, not really the author’s fault, but I couldn’t make it past the person who was so unremittingly dirty that he was famed for stinking feet (I know this is an odd final straw, but there you are).