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A review by fullybooked22
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
3.25
An incredible insight to the lives of these five women. Clearly incredibly well researched, it was a fascinating read which i think perfectly toed the line between being informative but not gratuitous in the reason for their lives being explored (their deaths). The tangential topics discovered (life in the workhouse, realities of homelessness and prostitution, life in the army, etc.) were masterfully done and i thoroughly enjoyed how the author covered these topics. It made for a very compelling read in that the story of each woman’s life was covered but in order to flesh it out details of their daily realities were included.
However, I would say that with all the information that was covered I’m not sure how much I will be able to retain. There was little respite in terms of facts and information — a book I think that would need to be annotated or just revisited in order to get the most out of it.
It is obviously such a sad topic but I think the resounding argument of Rubenhold exposing the misogyny these women have been treated with and the way their murders have been made acceptable by associating them with the sex trade was uplifting in the way she challenges what has become the popular narrative.
It feels as though in challenging the now mythologised figure in history of Jack the Ripped Rubenhold also challenges the way we view women in history in their multitudes and I love it.
However, I would say that with all the information that was covered I’m not sure how much I will be able to retain. There was little respite in terms of facts and information — a book I think that would need to be annotated or just revisited in order to get the most out of it.
It is obviously such a sad topic but I think the resounding argument of Rubenhold exposing the misogyny these women have been treated with and the way their murders have been made acceptable by associating them with the sex trade was uplifting in the way she challenges what has become the popular narrative.
It feels as though in challenging the now mythologised figure in history of Jack the Ripped Rubenhold also challenges the way we view women in history in their multitudes and I love it.