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Used
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Trade Paperback
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9780358299615
Overview
Overview
Five devastating human stories and a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London--the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.
Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden, and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers.
What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888. The person responsible was never identified, but the character created by the press to fill that gap has become far more famous than any of these five women.
For more than a century, newspapers have been keen to tell us that "the Ripper" preyed on prostitutes. Not only is this untrue, as historian Hallie Rubenhold has discovered, it has prevented the real stories of these fascinating women from being told. Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, revealing a world not just of Dickens and Queen Victoria, but of poverty, homelessness and rampant misogyny. They died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time--but their greatest misfortune was to be born a woman.
Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden, and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers.
What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888. The person responsible was never identified, but the character created by the press to fill that gap has become far more famous than any of these five women.
For more than a century, newspapers have been keen to tell us that "the Ripper" preyed on prostitutes. Not only is this untrue, as historian Hallie Rubenhold has discovered, it has prevented the real stories of these fascinating women from being told. Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, revealing a world not just of Dickens and Queen Victoria, but of poverty, homelessness and rampant misogyny. They died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time--but their greatest misfortune was to be born a woman.
- Format: TradePaperback
- Author: Rubenhold, Hallie
- ISBN: 9780358299615
- Condition: Used
- Dimensions: 8.00 x 1.00
- Number Of Pages: 368
- Publication Year: 2020
Customer Reviews
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This book will change your mind about Jack the Ripper
Susanna T. - 5 years 9 months agoThis book is filled with surprises, and is an engrossing read. Highly recommend.
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Compassionate History
Laura K. - 6 years agoI feel like this book may be the first time any of these woman were shown any compassion. Though exact records of events leave lots of gaps and inconsistencies, Rubenhold, rather than making judgmental assumptions, uses what she knows about the hardships of being a impoverished woman in the nineteenth century to speculate about women whose stories have never been told. It unravels the oversimplification of the legend to introduce nuance and feeling. In short, she reminds us that five women lost their lives. Even if no one else valued those lives, they certainly did. Beautifully written and transparent about its research. #SummerReading
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Astounding nonfiction!
Ashley P. - 6 years agoFirst line: There are two versions of the events of 1887. One is very well known, but the other is not. Summary: Everyone has heard the story of Jack the Ripper. He haunted the streets of Whitechapel preying on women. His victims known as the canonical five are Polly, Annie, Elisabeth, Catherine and Mary Jane. His story has been researched and turned over hundreds of times but very little is actually known about the women whose lives he took. Here are their stories. My Thoughts: I have recommended this book to anyone and everyone! I was completely engrossed in it. It is thoroughly researched and well written. It reads like fiction and is easy to get caught up in these women’s lives. I found myself hoping for better outcomes as I read even though I knew how each of their stories was a going to end. Rubenhold brings these women and the times that they lived to the forefront. Everyone thinks that they know the victims. They were prostitutes right? Wrong. Some were but not all five. Each has a story to tell. I could not believe the detail put into their narratives. Using housing records, census, interviews and newspaper reports we get fuller picture of their lives. Sometimes we romanticize the Victorian time period but it was anything but ideal. People were barely able to care for their families. Housing was not always safe or healthy. Disease, alcoholism and poverty were prevalent. How people survived is astounding. If you love history, true crime or biographies than this is perfect for you. It is full of information that will keep you reading until the very end. FYI: There is very little mentioned about Jack the Ripper. This book focuses on the women only and the time that they lived. #SummerReading