The Five is a fascinating look at the life of the women killed by Jack the Ripper, told in a way that transports you to the streets of Victorian England and into the workhouses, rooming houses, servants' quarters, and other places they lived their lives. Instead of repeating dubious claims made at the inquests by people who didn't know the women personally, Rubenhold focuses on primary source documents and the testimony of friends and family. She fills in the gaps by discussing what we know about how Victorian society treated women in similar situations, and asking the reader to empathize with how Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Kate, and Mary-Jane would likely have felt given the challenges in their lives.

Hallie Rubenhold's purpose with this book is to humanize the victims, illuminate the social systems that led them to the streets, and challenge the myth that the five women were all sex workers, and therefore somehow deserved their fate. Rubenhold makes clear she isn't trying to reinforce a moral judgement on sex workers, but as other reviewers have pointed out, her repetition of the theme does come across as a bit defensive at times, and unnecessary for those of us already sold on the idea that no one deserved what happened to these five women.