The Five

by Hallie Rubenhold

[HekArtemis]

I was concerned going in that this book would be so focused on showing that four of the five were not prostitutes that it would essentially be saying that their murders were even more tragic than originally thought. As though to say that real prostitutes deserved the murder, maybe.

Instead this book isn't about their deaths at all, it's simply about their lives and, because of their manner of death, it is also about how their lives were so tragically ignored by the world then, and even still now. It's not about showing they were better because they weren't prostitutes, it is about showing how messed up Victorian England was in pushing women into these awful lives and then blaming them and treating them like trash when they had to try to survive those lives forced upon them.

This book is about the lives of five women who were murdered and whose murderer is practically worshipped by the world. Oh we all agree that the Ripper was evil, but how happy are we that he existed so that we could have his story to tell. And the stories of the victims? ignored for the most part, lied about when given any attention.

This is an amazing book that really takes a good and deep look at Victorian England and the lives of not just five women, but many other people of that time as well. I think this is not just a necessary book for the whole Ripper genre, but it's also a fantastic book for learning about Victorian England and especially womens lives in that time.