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Original poster

The Five by Hallie Rubenfold. Great book

30 replies

BovaryX · 01/06/2020 11:16

If anyone is looking for a book recommendation, this meticulously well researched book about the lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper is well worth reading. It is not about the murders, it is about the circumstances which caused the lives of women to unravel during the 19th century. It is written with a quiet fury and is very moving.

OP posts:
GCmiddle · 01/06/2020 13:58

I agree - it's a fantastic book, meticulously researched, but very readable. She paints wonderful portraits of the lives of the 5 women. I loved that the man who murdered them, and the actual murders, don't feature at all. I reccommended it to my book group and everyone was impressed.

RoyalCorgi · 01/06/2020 12:00

I loved this book too. Really eye-opening. It's absolutely shocking that for 120 years these women have been grouped collectively as victims of Jack the Ripper, rather than individual women, each with a personal heartbreaking backstory.

SisyphusLangClegRocks · 01/06/2020 11:36

Thank you for the recommendation OP, I'll definitely have a looked for that one. It always angered me the way the victims were sidelined and dehumanised.

Reminds me of all the publicity surrounding Ted Bundy. Plus ca change etc...

Original poster
BovaryX · 01/06/2020 11:29

Yes. Of all the literature generated by these horrendous crimes, it is quite incredible that none of it has examined the lives of Mary Ann Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. Hallie Rubenfold has dedicated the book to them. It is an impressive piece of feminist writing.

OP posts:
ProfessorHasturLaVista · 01/06/2020 11:18

It’s absolutely brilliant! The way she makes those women live again and their deaths not the most important point about them is just wonderful. The unveiling of the society they had to live in and how they arrived at a point where they were just victims of a predator is very moving.