May Book Club: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper

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

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold is a non-fiction book that reframes the Jack the Ripper story by focusing on the individual lives of the five canonical victims (Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly) rather than the killer, challenging the myth that they were all prostitutes and revealing them as complex individuals with unique backgrounds, struggles, and stories of poverty, resilience, and loss in Victorian London. The book uses extensive archival research to restore dignity to the women, arguing that they were victims of their social circumstances long before they were murdered.