Jack the Ripper's victims: 'People are fascinated by guts and gore — but the victims have been passed over'

A book that put the five women front and centre, instead of rehashing theories about the killer’s identity, is now in paperback, says Emer Harrington

A composite of three Scotland Yard issued photographs of serial killer Jack The Ripper's female victims, all killed between August and November 1888 L-R: Annie Chapman, Mary Ann Nichols and Elizabeth Stride.

The names Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly may not be instantly recognisable. However, they are all victims of one of the world’s most infamous serial killers.

In 1888, Jack the Ripper went on a murderous rampage through Whitechapel, in East London, slashing the women’s throats and disembowelling them.