I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the RipperAuthor: Hallie Rubenhold
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 416
Rating: 4/5
Summary:
This book explores the lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper in London in 1888, who were not, contrary to popular belief, all "just" sex workers but complex people each with their own stories.
Review:
This was a really interesting book and I really liked it!
I love it when there are books like these who explore an infamous thing, but from another viewpoint, which is exactly what this does. It paints a picture of Victorian London, what life was like for regular people there, and of five women who came from different places and how they were just people with struggles and triumphs, trying to survive as women in the times they were living in.
I love it when there are books like these who explore an infamous thing, but from another viewpoint, which is exactly what this does. It paints a picture of Victorian London, what life was like for regular people there, and of five women who came from different places and how they were just people with struggles and triumphs, trying to survive as women in the times they were living in.
This book also comments on broader issues and the problem of focusing on the killer instead of the victims, and how you almost need to eradicate the humanity of the victims to allow yourself to be obsessed and fascinated by the murderer. It also comments on women's place in society and the problem with categorising people into boxes where they don't necessarily fit, and how placing them in their suddenly makes that into the only thing they are.
My only slight snag with this book is I felt like it was a little dense in points, and slightly repetitive in some areas, but overall, this was really, really interesting.
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You can read more about it on Goodreads
You can read more about it on Goodreads
