13 thoughts on “Mary Jane Kelly Onscreen

    1. Oh! I hadn’t heard of such! I will be hunting it down forthwith. Many huge thanks for letting me know it exists. :D

  1. It’s a sorry thing that these perfectly unremarkable women are remembered solely for having been murdered and even more horrible to realise that they are remembered with any clarity only because they were murdered by one of the more infamous serial killers in human history (and Murder Nerds are as indefatigable & meticulous as their counterparts in less grisly areas of interest).

    I’ve just been struck by the horrible suspicion that their infamy is the working class equivalent to having been numbered amongst Henry VIII’s wives.

    1. I think you’re right. Most of the women in my family at this time were domestic workers, and the men labourers, some very skilled. So we were far closer to poverty like this than the middle class (Scotland and the Netherlands.) We should care about these women for who they were and the reality of the world they moved through.

      1. It is fascinating to learn of all the skilled labour in Whitechapel. Many of these skilled professions would have only just kept people above the poverty line: tailors, tanners, embroiderers. It is also hugely interesting to research these five women and discover how vastly different their lives were.

    2. I completely agree. It is so sad that these woman gained historical renown via their horrendous murders. Without such they would have, most likely, slipped through the gaps of time in deprivation, illness/addiction and poverty…. I certainly think that your Henry VIII’s wives analogy is spot on; and one I hadn’t thought of.

    3. I completely agree. It is so sad that these woman gained historical renown via their horrendous murders. Without such they would have, most likely, slipped through the gaps of time in deprivation, illness/addiction and poverty…. I certainly think that your Henry VIII’s wives analogy is spot on; and one I hadn’t thought of.

      1. Thank You for the compliment: the analogy falls apart a bit when it comes to Catherine of Aragon (Who would have attracted notice by dint of her paternity, if nothing else) but it’s hard to resist the suspicion that more than one of the Six would have been mostly lost to history, bar their connection to that most notorious of English potentates.

  2. PBS just showed ‘Lucy Worsley Invesrigates Jack the Ripper”. Her focus is on how the press of the time treated the murders and the victims, giving rise to the public’s fascination with true crime. She interviews the author of “Five’ to discuss how unfairly the women were characterized.

    1. I saw the episode over Christmas and – as with all Lucy Worsley documentaries – I thought it excellent and insightful. :D I was worried that Mary Jane Kelly would make a dramatized appearance, as I had already submitted this post – I don’t think she did though. There was an uncomfortable looking woman in a train carriage, as Worsley relayed the events of the final murder… but as Mary Kelly would not of had any cause, or the funds, for such a journey I do not think it was meant to represent her.

  3. If you haven’t listened to Hallie Rubenhold’s podcast using her research for the book, “Bad Women: The Ripper Retold – Season 1”, detailing the biographies of each of the women, I highly recommend it. It was produced by Pushkin, and consists of fifteen episodes.

  4. How amazing, I will certainly hunt it down. It sounds perfect ‘listen whilst I sew’ material! Huge thanks for the suggestion!

  5. I will now be looking up these versions! Heartbreaking, yet fascinating. Horrifying for poor Mary and all of the victims, may they rest in peace. Also, there was a version called Mary Kelly in 2000, with Julia Roberts, which I have never seen, but will check out too. I love your blog!

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