Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers. What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888.

The person responsible was never identified, but the character created by the press to fill that gap has become far more famous than any of these five women.
For more than a century, newspapers have been keen to tell us that ‘the Ripper’ preyed on prostitutes. Not only is this untrue, as historian Hallie Rubenhold has discovered, it has prevented the real stories of these fascinating women from being told. Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, revealing a world not just of Dickens and Queen Victoria, but of poverty, homelessness and rampant misogyny. They died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time – but their greatest misfortune was to be born a woman.

Group Reviews:

This book led to more discussion than usual at our meeting.  Everyone enjoyed it.

1.  Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this book and wouldn’t have chosen to read it normally. It was a very clear  insight into the  lives of the five victims killed by Jack the Ripper.   With the author describing  their early years,  how the life path they chose led them  becoming alcoholics, sleeping rough,  perhaps going into prostitution and what they had in common which led to their murders.  It was definitely a different take on all the books about Jack the Ripper.  Although,  very sad at the way these women’s lives were and ended it was written in a very informative and respectful manner.  Well done Hallie Rubenhold.

2.  There were some common themes running through the stories of the five women who were alleged to have been victims of Jack The Ripper – namely their lives were all filled with unfortunate circumstances, there was a reliance on alcohol at various points of their lives, they came from under privileged backgrounds. Misfortune had taken them to a dangerous area of London. It was assumed that they were all prostitutes but the stories showed that only one, Mary Jane Kelly, considered herself a prostitute.

3.  The stories of the women were that of the social history of the time. Each came from a different part of the country with one originating in Sweden.  I felt that the detail of conditions these women lived in was fairly generic and perhaps not altogether relevant for each one. Although the social history for the era was interesting the detail was too much and at times repeated. Women who had received a rudiment of education could still not escape their circumstances. There were also gaps in the knowledge of circumstances of each woman and how they arrived in this notorious part of London so it seemed that without real evidence it was made to fit the overall story.

4.  I enjoyed the book and thought it was well written, an easy read, whilst giving information and being thought provoking.  Although the women prostituted themselves I do not think that was their original aim, it was forced on them by  the times; they had to have a man ‘behind’ them and if they lost the support of one quickly had to find another.  At least today’s women have a choice.  Poverty and alcohol were the major factors in the downfall of the women although lack of family support contributed to their problems.  Nowadays the media can be intrusive but it helps to publish information about available help.  It was interesting to read about the lives of the women rather than speculation as to whom the Ripper could have been.

The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine – as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.

Group Reviews:

I felt this book was more suitable for teenagers and young adults. Not much substance to the story.

I have read the book and enjoyed the read…I liked his style of writing, the use of first person and from the perspective of a young child to adult was an interesting way of telling a story..  The story too, was unusual.   For some reason when the tale  is two thirds through, maybe more,  it starts to lose its edge for me somehow, perhaps because so much happens all at once.  But I’m thinking he must have it had or film in mind because visually it would be pumping up the volume.  Can just hear the music building in the  background as they drive through the trees towards the lone house, tension building etc….   Then the scenario in the house and visuals depicting ghostly figures. ……

A collection of seventeen wonderful short stories showing that two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks is as talented a writer as he is an actor.

A hectic, funny sexual affair between two best friends. A World War II veteran dealing with his emotional and physical scars. A second-rate actor plunged into sudden stardom and a whirlwind press junket. A small-town newspaper columnist with old-fashioned views of the modern world. A woman adjusting to life in a new neighbourhood after her divorce. Four friends going to the moon and back in a rocket ship constructed in the backyard. A teenage surfer stumbling into his father’s secret life.

These are just some of the people and situations that Tom Hanks explores in his first work of fiction, a collection of stories that dissects, with great affection, humour and insight, the human condition and all its foibles. The stories are linked by one thing: in each of them, a typewriter plays a part, sometimes minor, sometimes central. To many, typewriters represent a level of craftsmanship, beauty and individuality that is harder and harder to find in the modern world. In his stories, Mr Hanks gracefully reaches that typewriter-worthy level.

Group Reviews:

An interesting collection of short stories and a good balance of characters with the typewriter going on in the background.

This months book comprised a bunch of stories, some very entertaining, some fairly bland and the remainder didn’t seem worth pursuing.

I found that the subject matter was very American, which I liked. Although it was clear from references to technology that  many of the stories were set in modern times it felt that they were set in earlier times (1950’s?)

Overall I found it ok and would give it a neutral score.