The Five
The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
-
-
4.3 • 34 Ratings
-
-
- $14.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction and of the Goodreads Choice Award for History & Biography
The award-winning, best-selling book that changes the narrative of the “Ripper” murders forever
Polly, Annie, Elisabeth, Catherine, and Mary Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from some of London’s wealthiest and poorest neighborhoods, from the factory towns of middle England, and from Wales and Sweden. They wrote ballads, ran coffeehouses, lived on country estates; they breathed ink dust from printing presses and escaped human 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. Now, in this gripping narrative of five lives, Hallie Rubenhold finally sets the record straight and gives these women back their stories.
Customer Reviews
What Do You Know About the five Victims of “Jack the Ripper”?
I’m a reader of true crime books and was drawn to this book cause I really didn’t know much, really nothing, about the five women murdered by Jack the Ripper. These women had very difficult experiences. Each one spiraled down from sometimes alcohol abuse, or one husband who cheated and pretty much banded her. One husband died. And other sad circumstances. Each had a rocky existence to bear. I wanted to know more about their lives before the rough times began. Making these women be seen in a new light is what they deserve. They had a hard time and I think they tried the best they could with what they had to just exist and find a little happiness too.