Stalking Jack the Ripper

Seventeen-year-old Audrey is the headstrong and intelligent protagonist of Stalking Jack the Ripper. She is a young upper-class woman who has been shielded from most of life’s worries, though she suffered after her mother’s tragic death. Audrey is a curious individual with passion for science, particularly forensic medicine, the field in which her Uncle Jonathan Wadsworth specializes. Her favorite pastime is helping her uncle study and dissect cadavers in his basement laboratory.

Audrey struggles to operate within the strict rules and expectations placed on women of her class and age. Her Aunt Amelia and her father (through most of the novel) condemn her interest in the improper and “manly” pursuit of forensic science. Audrey’s cousin, Liza, helps her to realize that she can still enjoy and be proud of aspects of her femininity while also pursuing her professional aspirations.

Audrey falls in love with Thomas Cresswell, a fellow pupil of her uncle’s, as they work together to solve the mysterious Jack the Ripper case. Through her relationship with Thomas, she becomes more confident; Thomas is quick-witted and challenges her personally and intellectually. He does not dismiss her, as do her other male peers, nor does he engage her in frivolities like her female friends.