The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Kate and Mary Jane are the names of the victims of Jack the Ripper.

This historical nonfiction dives deep into the lives of these 5 women. The author takes us back to their lives in Victorian England. Through extensive research she uncovers real

stories of these women that history has labeled as fallen women. These five were daughters, sisters, wives and mothers. Instead of focusing on the killer this book shows us the social injustice that happens to these women when they fell on hard times.

As a lover of historical nonfiction this book took me on a deep dive into the British social history of the 19th century. It lays bare the fact that if you were a woman in the working class and you were not aligned with a man survival was bleak. The Five gave the victims a voice and did not sensationalize or mystify the atrocities of Jack the Ripper.

Check out The Five from the Library today (https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx…).