The Whitechapel Girl

by Gilda O'Neill

A spellbinding saga of London’s East End.

Genres: Historical Fiction

464 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 1994

Reviews

[Dash fan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whitechapel girl is about a young girl called Ettie who has had enough of her life in Whitechapel living in poverty and wants out.

She meets Jacob at he's Famous Professor Protsky’s Genuine Freak Show and becomes mesmerised by him.

She stays back after the show where she speaks to Jacob and he offers her a way out of her life.
He wants to train her to be he's assistant, the best Physic around.

After much consideration and being fed up with being abused by her mothers drunken lodger, she runs off with Jacob leaving her old life behind her.

However she just keeps getting pulled back to her Whitechapel roots. But is it Ettie who has changed or her friends.

Running alongside the main story is Celia. Another young lady who is abused by her dad.
He is in the medical profession and soon teaches her he's trade.

Celia becomes attached also to the poverty and hardship of Whitechapel and soon makes it her mission to help the mothers and working girls of Whitechapel.

I did enjoy reading Whitechapel Girl, but I found the stories to be rather confusing.
I feel that Celia'so story could easily be written as a separate book. I understand that Celia wanted to help make Whitechapel better for the women but I couldn't understand how her story fitted in with Ettie as she spent her whole time trying to escape.
I understand they become friends but I feel the actual story seemed to be stretched out a little too long.

This was a tough book to review as all though I gave it 3* I think it's more a 3.5
In regards to recommendations I feel that just because I found it difficult to read, This may appeal to others.
As this is just my personal taste and opinion.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review via NetGalley

[Laura Greenwood]

DNF - I'm sure this would be a great book, but unfortunately I couldn't get past the written accents. It just makes reading hard going for me personally!

[Ravenclaw251 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't really get past the written accents & despite the interesting summary, I didn't like any of the characters & just couldn't get into it.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

[Marice Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this book, but the accent writing was a little confusing at first. Slow movement throughout let it down. There are only so many times we needed to know all the details of buying rounds of drinks. Also felt the details of Celia's work and decline were lacking.

[Bloss ♡]

I skim read this so I’m not attributing a rating.

[Roderick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read but not the thrilling book I was expecting given the link to Jack the Ripper

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book and felt it was possible to get a really good understanding of poverty in this area of London in the time of Jack (or Jacqueline) the Ripper. I have not read about the idea of the Ripper being a female before so this was an interesting notion for me and O'Neill had very clear reasons as to why this idea was so likely.
The characters were believable and the whole story enjoyable. I always appreciate the idea that at this time there was so little that women were allowed to work at it was easy to fall into prostitution and it was interesting to see Ettie achieve the opposite and rise above her situation and make a life for herself.
I was given this book by Netgalley and the publisher. This is my voluntary review.

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Whitechapel Girl is a historical fiction novel that features one female lead character from Whitechapel named Ettie. Ettie winds up being presented with the opportunity to leave her poor, abusive life in Whitechapel for a chance at a new life. In the meantime, readers are also introduced to Celia, a non-Whitechapel girl who is drawn to helping the women of Whitechapel. In the end, their lives cross and Ettie winds up learning that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. All of this takes place during the Jack the Ripper period of history, which was what really drew me to this book. I was reminded of episodes of Ripper Street while reading the book. I felt the author captured the poverty stricken parts of Whitechapel very well. Unfortunately, there was so much going on with both characters. The story switched back and forth in perspective a lot and at times it would get confusing. This also tended to make the story drag. There was too much fluff background story. I felt that Celia was deserving of her own story.

[Susan Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Princess Fuzzypants here:
I do like books on Jack the Ripper whether it is a straight up history or a historical novel. Almost 130 years since his horrible crimes, he is still a fascinating character. While he plays a major role in this story, he is but a part of the greater narrative.
Ettie is a Whitechapel girl who faces the same poverty, brutality, abuse and depravity of other young women. But Ettie has something special that allows her to escape. She is flung into the hypocritical world where morals are espoused while the reality is the opposite. She does not fit in either world which makes her a perfect foil through which the reader can experience the ugliness of Victorian London.
The author creates characters for whom the reader can root so when one falls into the abyss, it is all the more shocking and sad. Despite the darkness of the tale and the bleakness of the lives portrayed, there is still a touch of hope. There are also unanswered questions about the identity of Jack. Somehow they work and yet leave the reader wondering. Could it be...?
I give this the full five purrs and two paws up.

[Eileen Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this as I enjoy historical novels.
Unfortunately I found the characters very superficial and the story was similar to others I have read in this genre.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Endeavour via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

[Roz Radmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting tale of life in Whitechapel in the year 1888 . Ettie Wilkins is determined to leave the slums of Whitechapel so when Professor Jacob Protsky picks her from the crowd and offers her work she jumps at the chance to help him with his magic act .
Celia Tressing is increasingly worried by her father's behaviour . He seems mad at times and she is afraid of him .
Ettie's mother is being physically abused by her lodger , a man who works in one of the many slaughterhouses .
Then as the year rolls on towards autumn news breaks of gruesome murders in the East End . A man being called Jack The Ripper is the talk of Whitechapel . Could one of their men be him ?

[Haley Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about a girl named Ettie Wilkins, and her life in Whitechapel. She grew up very poor, in the slums, then happens to meet Professor Jacob Protsky, a "psychic". She longs to leave Whitechapel, and she sees her chance in Protsky. She leaves behind her life in Whitechapel and moves in with him and learns his " trade" but is just as miserable there. Then Jack the Ripper starts up and she's faced with religious discrimination and rumors. She meets a troubled girl named Celia Tressing, who really needs a friend. She's faced with lots of tough, emotional decisions. A net galley book.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

1880s London, and the story of Ettie Wilkins from Whitechapel and how meeting Professor Jacob Protsky changing her life; and the much abused Celia Tressing, daughter of a doctor. In the time of Jack the Ripper, though this part of story came much later in the book.
Unfortunately I didn't really find the story or the characters that interesting or entertaining.
A NetGalley Book

[Bethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dark tempestuous saga of clairvoyants and cutthroats set in 1880s London that will haunt, compel, bewitch. It's a female Jack the Ripper story, a terrifying insight into the methods of Victorian surgeons, and a poignant romance all bound up into one. As ever, O'Neill's writing is suffused with her exhaustive research into the gruelling lives of East End women over the last century.