The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper

Describe Rubenhold’s thesis in The Five. In what ways is her work a revisionist take on the story of Jack the Ripper? How do her goals shape her approach to the subject matter?

Choose another book written entirely about the Jack the Ripper murders. In what ways are the texts different or similar in how they describe and discuss the five canonical victims?

Throughout The Five, Rubenhold draws on primary sources. Choose three primary sources quoted in the text. What purpose do these primary sources serve? How does Rubenhold employ primary sources to challenge the traditional Jack the Ripper narrative?