An accurate account of the Whitechapel Murders of 1888, focusing on their victims rather than on the character of Jack the Ripper; by placing the spotlight on their personal lives.

A great book that should be read together with “Who was Jack the Ripper? All suspects revealed”, written by the H Division Crime Club and published by Pen & Sword.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for a copy of this book to read and review.

The name of Jack the Ripper is synonymous with the east end of London in the late 1880s. He killed five women, maybe more, and the depravity of these killings grew worse with each victim.

No one knows why he did it, how he was able to disappear into the night without a sound, or crucially, who he was. To say that a large number of authors and historians have searched for answers would be an gross understatement and theories abound as to his actual identity.

What isn't in doubt is the names of his acknowledged victims, who had many things in common but just as many not. Dr Robert Hume concentrates his investigation on these unfortunate women and their lives before they became immortalised as Ripper victims. He does not consider the killer's identity at all but instead concentrates on the downward turns which led to the five of them being in the depths of poverty and despair in the first place.

There is quite a bit of information I had not read about before in this book and the usual main concept, that of identifying Jack, didn't seem to be needed at all. There is no doubt the inability of the police to identify a viable suspect in such a high profile case has kept it in the literary limelight for over 130 years and I am sure many more books will follow this one. In reality it is quite possible the perpetrator and his reasons for killing could be both ordinary and mundane in nature and not worthy of our attention. I have a feeling we may never find out if that is the case or not but there will always be those who investigate and those who read about it afterwards.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in historical victimology or the most famous unsolved murders of them all.

Interesting research on the victims of Jack the Ripper. The focus I've read in the past has always had the focus and speculation on who Jack the Ripper could be. This book comes at it from a different perspective, and gives insight into the lives and problems of poverty and abuse the victims suffered. It gives them a face and a voice, and less dismissive as "just a prostitute" as many have done then and now. At times the author speculates and I wish he would stick with what facts he had instead, but that is just my opinion. Still though, could see this as a great tool to have in a research library, and would be useful for anyone wanting to know more about what happen and to who. Also, a lot of photos from the area really help bring the issue to life as well. Highly recommend this book.

Everyone knows Jack the Ripper, but what do we know about his victims?
I thought I knew a lot about the London of this period. I guess I was wrong. Or better, I recognized many things that were written about in this book, but I never made the link to the five women that were killed by Jack! I learned much from this book, and it has changed my view of this part of history. It has become no less grim or dark, even the opposite. It has also made the victims more human.

I was so glad to see this book, as it focuses on the victims of the crimes as opposed to the perpetrator. It was a well-written reporting of facts told as a story for each victim in the order of her death.

Even without dramatic flair, the abject poverty in which these, and other East Londoners lived is made tragically clear. The trajectory of these women's lives could have been so different if not for, as the author states, "the fickleness of fate - unemployment, abandonment, homelessness, or the death of a parent, husband or child".

The book is meticulously researched and there are pictures and documentation of the places referenced. Pictures of the victims post-mortem are also included. The historical backdrop of the political and social climate of London at the time is really brought to life.

I highly recommend this book as a commemoration to those poor women who had the misfortune to cross paths with a killer. Their lives were important, and these are their stories.

This was a fantastic and thoroughly well researched book about the victims of Jack the Ripper. I liked the fact that it focused more on the women and their life stories, as opposed to the usual angle of working out who Jack might have been, and thought the overall tone of the book made it a very accessible read.

This is a very well researched and written book. It was nice to finally read a book that focused on the victims as opposed to Jack The Ripper.

I absolutely loved the fact this book focuses on the lives of his victims, rather than the infamy and notoriety he gained, to remember the women as the important ones, women with lives who were murdered and tortured completely undeserving of their fate. Well researched and put together, great phots, illustrations and news clippings to illustrate their stories even better. This book is a great new fresh perspective and puts the main focus where it should always have been, innocent women who were murdered.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

A fascinating insight into the intricate inner lives of Jack the Ripper's victims, this novel asks you to look beyond the historical hype and regard these women as what they truly were - human beings undeserving of their fate. Filled with historical details about the time and Victorian culture, plus never be seen photographs, this book is an excellent primer of the infamous crimes.

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Everyone knows the case of Jack the Ripper and how he terrorized London, but many might not know his victims. This book details the background and lives of all 5 of the Ripper's victims. Dr. Hume brings their histories into the forefront and tells you each of their stories, from as early as is recorded up until their brutal murders. Scattered throughout are also pictures and drawings from that time period, which really helps bring the facts to life. It's so interesting to read about these women and see what struggles they all had, from hard marriages to alcoholism. If you're a fan of true crime, or even just history itself, this is definitely something to check out. I will say though, if you're squeamish, this may not be for you as there are pictures of the victims from the crime scenes.

I’ve read several books about the Jack the Ripper cases and was thrilled for the opportunity to review this book. It lived up to my expectations in a way that none other have. The books primary focus being the victims of the Ripper, it is unique in itself. The book is so well researched, and each victim comprehensively given a history and a story of their own. These woman’s unfortunate demises intertwining them, but also the commonality of their misfortune in life, addiction, family demise and marital failure. I learned a lot about London’s conditions for Victorian women. I would recommend this book to fans of history, crime, and society. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC copy.

Finally, a book that looks more into the lives of the Ripper’s victims rather than giving all of the attention to the killer himself. From what it shows, the victims have often been misrepresented up to this point. It discusses the false belief at the time that the women chose to be prostitutes rather than be respectable housewives, like they had a choice. Also, how they were often portrayed as dirty, drunken women, stumbling around looking for their next hookup. I found this honest look into the victim’s lives much more interesting than yet another ho-hum attempt at guessing who the Ripper is again. A fresh look at the story with a bit more realistic look at how things really were for poor women back then in many cases, instead of the hogwash that’s been carried down through the years.

It shares information on each of the victims, making them more real people rather than characters in a story. The advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Dr. Robert Hume, and the publisher.

This was a fantastic book, retelling the lives of the victims of Jack The Ripper. It was such an interesting read, it had me gripped from page one, I was transported to the 1800s and felt I was a bystander witnessing this ladies' lives. Absolutely loved this book, couldn't recommend it highly enough!
I kindly received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley #TheHiddenLivesOfJackTheRippersVictims

I am a massive fan of anything to do with Jack the Ripper and I have read a lot of books that cover the subject and I have to say that this one was superb and one of the best I have read!

The book was concise and I thought the content was excellent. The author has taken the time to put the spotlight on the victims and their lives, not on the infamous killer and who they may have been.

I think the book portrayed the victims in a good light, it showed just how hard it was for these women in the East End of Victorian London. It must have been a horrific thing to live through, you have the lack of housing, possibility that you won’t have money to eat and the only way you think you earn money is to sell your body and ultimately put your life at risk, it must have been an awful choice to make when you know that there is a killer prowling the streets and you could potentially be next...

It is 5 stars from me for this one, it is a well written book, I loved the content and thought it was superb overall. Very highly recommend, a must for fans of the Jack the Ripper mystery and true crime!

History often likes to plat righteous and forget that the women destroyed by "Jack the Ripper" were real individuals, not just stereotypes or sensationalist corpses. This highly-detailed account uncovers the biographies of these victims, illustrating that economics drove them to act as they did. Reiterating that these women were not low in intellect nor deficient in moral value, but constrained by economic reality to struggle to survive, they are seen as doubly victimized: mirdered brutally, then blamed for their lifestyle choices. This narrative offers a fresh new perspective.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I have been waiting for this wonderfully compassionate book for years and didn't even realize it.

So much obsession over Ripper mythology and so many people treat Mary Ann, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Jane like they were somehow deserving of their tragic fates.

I feel this book is a very important read.

An interesting look on the five murders of these unfortunate women, like Hume says, are only refereed to as "fallen" or "loose" women. I, for one, had never read much about these women's lives before, and by reading about them I feel as the murders of them are to be looked upon as even more horrifying than they usually are. These five individuals all lived rough with very little, they had to survive somehow, and it seems like they just happen to have picked up the wrong client at the wrong time which led to their deaths.

Hume presents each victim's backstory, their family background and how they ended up in London's East End and ultimately how they met their end and how their bodies were discovered. The text is easy to follow and he also presents several photographs and drawings of places, official records, morgue photographs and the like to portray the text which is a good way of opening up the cases to the reader. It was a nice angle to not mention the killer as much and put the focus on the victims and their story, which all have been demoted to nothingness in the hunt for the identity of the killer.

Thank you Pen and Sword History, and Netgalley, for providing me with the ARC of Hume's book.

Wow, what an amazing read. I couldn’t put it down and read it in a matter of hours. I’ve read many Jack the Ripper books where authors promise to provide you with the true identity of the killer, so it was refreshing to find a book that went the opposite way and spoke about the victims and their lives. They have forever just been names and photos of their mutilated bodies, but this book makes them human and you can’t help but feel sorry for them during their entire life. Very well written and researched.

Sadly I found myself unable to engage with this read, despite the fact in the past I have been an avid reader of this genre, The writing didn't draw me in, I didn't find myself getting lost in the pages. Visual imagery was a good touch, but I found myself DNF at 25%