The Five
The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
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Narrated by:
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Louise Brealey
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Written by:
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Hallie Rubenhold
About this listen
Five devastating human stories and a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London - the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.
Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine, and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden, and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates; they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-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.
For more than a century, newspapers have been keen to tell us that "the Ripper" preyed on prostitutes. Not only is this untrue, as historian Hallie Rubenhold has discovered, but it has prevented the real stories of these fascinating women from being told. Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, revealing a world not just of Dickens and Queen Victoria, but of poverty, homelessness, and rampant misogyny. They died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time - but their greatest misfortune was to be born a woman.
©2019 Hallie Rubenhold (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksYou may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about The Five
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- J Moody
- 2022-01-03
Such an Education!!!!
The biggest crime these people had was being a woman…..horrible outcomes from being abandoned!! With children no less. Not well protected by anyone, no where to go, no one to help….God Bless them…..
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-12-13
love it love it
I have been waiting forever it seems for a biography about the victims of Jacky boy. So interesting, moving and beautiful the way these woman lived. Their lives mattered no matter where they came from or how they lived. R.I.P. FIVE P. A. E. C.M
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1 person found this helpful
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- Dianne
- 2025-01-02
Excellent!
Amongst the plethora of Ripper information, this book stands out as an important antidote to the gruesome murders. With her careful research and beautiful writing style, Ms. Rubenhold transforms the five women from dismissed "prostitutes" into real life women with hopes, dreams, families and shortcomings, i.e. human beings who deserve to be remembered far more than the monster who killed them.
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- Megan Edmunds
- 2019-10-28
Fabulous look at real Victorian life
Wonderful writing and a great look at what Victorian life was really like for many. Hallie’s writing makes you genuinely feel sad for these women, the struggles and social pressures they endured. Wonderful book, and I can’t wait to read her next one!
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3 people found this helpful
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- C.M.
- 2021-10-24
Excellent view on the Truth of the "Five"
These women were all "vulnerable human beings", either homeless or poverty stricken, not prostitutes, that his how the police, and the media portrayed them in Victorian times. The Author does provide an accurate lens on the truth of their actual lives, and she shows how the police and the media influenced the lack of concern anyone - society in general at - should have for these women at that time. It also reflected that the police did not need to have to search for any suspects, nor was there was a need to hold anyone accountable for the murders of these women. Thus "Jack the Ripper" became famous. If this was that book I would not have wasted my time. I am glad I bought this book and I will look for more audible books by this Author.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2021-08-25
A Must Read
What an incredible book . It truly gives you an inside look at what it was like to be a woman of that era in London. I am so glad I listened to it and came to know the true story of the Rippers victims.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Lisa Hardwick
- 2021-11-06
Thought Provoking
This story went leaps and bounds past what I thought it would be. I went into reading this book with only faint knowledge of Jack the Ripper and even less of his victims.
In listening to the lives of the 5 victims I cried and felt angry at how unfair and unjustly their lives and deaths were assessed in their day and beyond. It also showed me how little really has changed in women’s lives and how we are treated. I feel quite emotionally drained at the end of it, which is not only a compliment to the author in writing so vividly.
This book is a must read to anyone who wishes to see past the typical retold stories of Jack the Ripper and know the humanity and life of those lives he deemed replaceable.
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- John Da Silva
- 2023-04-03
Amazing History Lesson
This is one of the best books I have listened to this year.
It was well written with lots of details and the delve into the lives of the 5 made the listen that much more interesting.
The narration was fantastic.
I didn"t want the book to end
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- loralou
- 2023-04-07
history in time of JR
This was a full history of not only the women but also the time in which it occurred. It was thought Provoking and well written. It keeps interest. And gives a whole new look on not only the murder victims but how women are treated in society today and yesteryear’s
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- Stephanie Lynn
- 2021-03-13
Bingeworthy
A fascinating and informative look at Victorian society with a hint of true crime. Incredibly well-written and researched, with beautiful narration. Very easy to listen to. I consider myself to be fairly well educated on the Ripper case, and this book provides such an insightful look at the women who are just names and victims in most literature on the subject. It also gives a brutally accurate depiction of the lives of the working class and the impoverished from the mid-late 19th century. I could not stop listening to this one - I was hooked from the first chapter.
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3 people found this helpful