Hallie Rubenhold details the lives of the five women killed by Jack the Ripper in Victorian-era London, examining the complexities of the victims' work, relationships, living situations, and health to counter long-held assumptions about them.

The notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper killed five women in London in 1888.

Unable to identify the killer or ascertain a motive, the public adopted an explanation that Jack the Ripper's targets were prostitutes — an assumption that has informed our understanding for more than 130 years.

Prostitution does not fully explain the murders of Jack the Ripper's victims and their circumstances.

Hallie Rubenhold is a London-based author and historian. She focuses on reviving the stories of unknown women from history.

In her 2019 book, Rubenhold demonstrates how Victorian-era newspapers ignored the wider social contexts of the strict laws regulating women's behavior.

A long economic depression and a massive homeless population both enabled Jack the Ripper to kill indiscriminately and anonymously.