Five devastating human stories and
a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London. By drawing upon a wealth of
formerly unseen archival material and adding a full historical context to the
victims' lives ‘The Five’ promises to change the narrative of these murders
forever. Hallie Rubenhold is a social historian who has worked as a curator for
the National Portrait Gallery and as a university lecturer. Her books include
‘Lady Worsley's Whim’, dramatized by the BBC as The Scandalous Lady W.
Social Historian, Hallie Rubenhold, gave a very interesting talk. She tells the stories of the five women (Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane) who were killed in 1888 by Jack The Ripper. The only thing they have in common is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Newspapers have always reported that he killed prostitutes, but Hallie has investigated their lives and finds out that this was not necessarily the case. The only sex worker amongst them (Mary Jane Kelly) had been a high class prostitute in the West End.
However, all the women could be referred to as having; 'stepped off the path of virtue', with regards to the Victorian social class system. There was no well paid women's work. If women were homeless, not living in the matrimonial home, alcoholic or living in a rescue home, they were seen as 'fallen women' and therefore sexually corrupt. The only place for sexual knowledge was within marriage. Anything else was outside of 'respectable society'. Any fall from grace for a woman was seen as deeply sinful. The murders were used to highlight to Victorian society that this is what happens when you are not respectable! It was almost felt they got what they deserved.
I was amazed to learn that four of the victims died in their 40's. One was 25. Most were married or had been married and had children.
When the audience were asked for questions, someone did ask who she though Jack really was. However, Hallie stated she didn't care who he was. She went onto say that we almost certainly will never know for sure, but she believes he wasn't a toff, as it would have been difficult to attack these women without standing out. She states that in the book she was careful not to glorify Jack, but to honour his victims by talking about them as human, as opposed to just prostitutes as has the case been previously.
Hallie stated that she researched many items in her quest to humanise the victims of Jack the Ripper, such as the reports of the inquests held, and newspaper reports, but she was careful to double check all facts as some sources contradicted others. She said she felt like a detective looking for clues. She was able to find information on the items these women left behind. They show who the victims were and the (sad) shadow outline of their existence.
If you look closely at the book in the photograph, you will see that the cover is actually smaller than the book itself. This encourages you to look beneath the cover, where all the names of the victims are written on the book itself.
What's next for Hallie? An historical true crime story from a female perspective. Looking at the impact of crime and how it affects people.
Luckily (as it was a school night!) our 2 favourite bands played first - GUN - who I first saw approx. 30 years ago at The Duchess of York pub in Leeds (now closed). These were followed by The Dan Reed Network who, I am sad to say, I never got a chance to see previously.
