Jack the Ripper and the East End

In 1888, Whitechapelat the heart of the inner East Endwas the most infamous place in the country, widely imagined as a site of the blackest and deepest horror. Its streets and alleys were seen as violent and dangerous, overflowing with poverty and depravity.Aiming to uncover the reality of East End life, this important portrait of the Victorian underworldlooks at slum housing, immigration, attitudes to women, poverty, violence, and crime. How the brutal killings were reported is also examined, as well as how the police tried to identify the murderer. A final sectiondescribes how Jack the Ripper has shaped our vision of London, and influenced popular culture.