The Five by Hallie Rubenfold. Great book

I completely agree. I was absolutely gripped by this book. So powerful and the amount of detail is incredible.

The same author’s Bone China does similar, Disfordarkchocolate. Where can you go when there is no safety net of welfare state or family (also touches on functional alcoholism of working class women).

I've also just listened to The Corset. While it's fictional it portrays the abject poverty of workers at the time very well.

Loved this book.

Hallie Rubenhold also wrote this great Twitter thread about a young Russian murder victim:
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1196122191827525633.html

All the media coverage was about the man who killed Anastasia Yeschenko and the gruesome details of her murder, but Rubenhold gave her back a little of her humanity.

Cried my eyes out at this book. Was the lists of their possessions that did it. Really brought them alive to me. Brilliant book. I've passed it onto my ds who has just had to write an essay on East London during that time.

It's a great book. I listened to it on Audible then sent a print copy yo my daughter. The lists of their belongings is heartbreaking.

We need more history that looks at individuals. The reality of lives has the power to teach us so much.

thanks from me too, I've signed up.

It’s excellent, adding my voice to the others recommending it. The women’s stories are unbearably sad

Th author is talking about the book tomorrow evening, if you look at her twitter there is a link, you can register to listen, and can also put forward questions in advance.

It is amazing. My fave read of 2019.

I loved this book, and sent my mum a copy as well. I’ve read quite a lot of books on JTR, almost all by men and almost all pushing their particular theory on the killer’s identity with little or no social history or background on the victims. I read Patricia Cornwell’s book (Walter Sickert as JTR) a few years ago and it’s is rubbish as far as the basic theory goes, but she does have a lot more detail on the women than any other author I had read up til then. Nothing like the detail that Hallie Rubenhold goes into, of course, but I find it interesting that of the vast canon of “Ripper literature” it’s only the female authors who seem to look at the victims rather than glory hunting to solve the crime, and PC does her fair bit of glory hunting as well.

I'm reading it now too @BovaryX I can also recommend it.

Thanks so much for the recommendation. I just downloaded it from the library and got thru two chapters (which is amazing in itself, considering I’m “homeschooling” the kids). Terrific writing.

*lives!

An absolutely fantastic book. I love the way that JTR just didn't feature at all and that the focus was totally on the women and their loves.

I do some theatre stuff and have been asked to be invovled in devising a performance piece based on the book. Obvoiously on hold at the moment but I'm hopeful that something will happen next year. If it does then I'll be playing Catherine Eddowes. I hope I do justice to her story.

Great minds

Cross post ProfYaffle

Absolutely fascinating book.

The abuse the author gets on Twitter from (male, quelle surprise!) “Ripperologists” is something else.

I've just finished this book, loved it, couldn't put it down.

What's so incredible is that the facts/history have always been out there in very accessible sources. Why on earth has it taken this long to actually focus on the social history of the women?

I'm also bewildered by the vociferous criticism by 'ripperologists'

I've just downloaded it. Thank you for the recommendation.

Yes, she suggests that they were all probably targeted when asleep. That goes against the narrative that the women were prostitutes who picked up a man who then killed them.
I have always hated the glamourising of these murders, and the way the women have become just bodies ever since their deaths. They have beeb dehumanised by their murderer and by society at large.
This book is so interesting, the extreme poverty is shocking to read. Also amazing that we still have no idea who Mary Jane Kelly really was.

I've recommended this before. It's an excellent social history.

Of the 5 women only 2 had ever been prostitutes and only 1 was still active. The 4 who weren't involved in prostitution were not murdered because they were prostitutes , which is the common myth, but because they were homeless rough sleepers. All evidence shows they were attacked when they were lying down.

One in particular was turned out of the kitchen of a model lodging house when the kitchen closed as she didn't have enough money for a bed for the night.

Been meaning to read this for ages.