The Five
The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
HarperCollins · Print & ebook · March 3, 2020
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.
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- Who it’s for
- Five varied lives take precedence over the press-made Ripper legend.
- Themes
- Women’s lives and stories, Press narratives and historical memory
- Genres
- Historical True Crime, Victorian Britain (1837-1901), Serial Killers
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Start with this bookAbout this book
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.
Continue reading
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.
Lives Beyond Legend
Five varied lives take precedence over the press-made Ripper legend.
Come here for
- Distinct lives shaped by class, work, and place
- A fresh focus on the women behind a notorious case
Expect
- A sustained narrative of five women’s lives
- History centered on the women, not the killer
Where it sits
| Historical True Crime | 54% |
|---|---|
| Victorian Britain (1837-1901) | 37% |
| Serial Killers | 27% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Lives in History
- Political Lives
- Women's Lives
- Criminals & Outlaws
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Personal Memoirs
- British History
- World History
- History Writing
- Authors
- Hallie Rubenhold
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- March 3, 2020
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Women’s lives and stories · Press narratives and historical memory
- Reading lane
- Lives in History