Scan barcode
npeach's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
pikusonali's review against another edition
4.0
Before I picked up 'The Five', I did not have a clear idea about what the book was. I knew the story was related to the infamous Jack The Ripper but I thought it was a fictional tale based on the serial killer legend.
But, in fact, this is a non-fiction book, actually based on the five women victims of the Ripper. Rubenhold's research is really good. She seems to have really dug up the past and told each person's story with as much detail as possible.
As the newspapers of those days erroneously described, all five victims were NOT prostitutes. This book serves to clear the names of those who weren't. The condition of Victorian England was far from ideal. Poverty and disease had ravaged the country. The description of how poor people lived is very heart-breaking. Women, especially, were treated only as child-bearing machines. A widow, a woman left by her husband, an independent woman trying to carve her own niche – all of them were shunned. Rubenhold describes these women impartially and for the first time attempts to shed light on the truth.
If you love history and crime and biographies, this book is a perfect amalgam of both.
But, in fact, this is a non-fiction book, actually based on the five women victims of the Ripper. Rubenhold's research is really good. She seems to have really dug up the past and told each person's story with as much detail as possible.
As the newspapers of those days erroneously described, all five victims were NOT prostitutes. This book serves to clear the names of those who weren't. The condition of Victorian England was far from ideal. Poverty and disease had ravaged the country. The description of how poor people lived is very heart-breaking. Women, especially, were treated only as child-bearing machines. A widow, a woman left by her husband, an independent woman trying to carve her own niche – all of them were shunned. Rubenhold describes these women impartially and for the first time attempts to shed light on the truth.
If you love history and crime and biographies, this book is a perfect amalgam of both.
cedrisc's review against another edition
3.0
There are some really interesting historical parts in this book but there were other parts I found boring and wanted to skip. It is amazing that this is my great grandmothers time and not really that long ago. The world has become so much easier for the majority of people.
liroa15's review against another edition
4.0
This was interesting but it just emphasizes how much we don’t know about these women and how terrible Victorian England was for the poor. Definitely not all Downton Abbey (I know that’s Edwardian but still...).
This was well researched and easy to read, which sometimes doesn’t happen in these books. Obviously, it’s a subject that continues to draw a lot of interest but I thought this put the focus squarely where it belongs.
This was well researched and easy to read, which sometimes doesn’t happen in these books. Obviously, it’s a subject that continues to draw a lot of interest but I thought this put the focus squarely where it belongs.
kirahaynes's review against another edition
5.0
The five by hallie rubenhold has completely changed how I view serial killings .
The victims are often reduced to what happened to them and the killer gets to have the story of their life told. In the five she talks about the lives of these women and how we forgot that the victims are people and view them as part of their killers stories.
I can’t recommend it highly enough and I hope to read more books like this. She doesn’t talk about the killings themselves which I think is powerful because victims are so much more than the worst thing that ever happened to them
The victims are often reduced to what happened to them and the killer gets to have the story of their life told. In the five she talks about the lives of these women and how we forgot that the victims are people and view them as part of their killers stories.
I can’t recommend it highly enough and I hope to read more books like this. She doesn’t talk about the killings themselves which I think is powerful because victims are so much more than the worst thing that ever happened to them