People of Abandoned Character

Written By Miriam Hanna

People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield

Reviewed by Mimi
📘📘📘📘

Thank you to @headofzeus for this copy!💙

Classic historical fiction, right up my street, this novel explores the idea that a nurse called Susannah is married to Jack the Ripper. Originally a doctor of high standing, Thomas is from a wealthy family who pursues Susannah and with no family or wealth to speak of, the connection is a good one! After their honeymoon, things begin to take a turn, Thas becomes violent and the paranoia becomes something deeper.

We know so little about Jack the Ripper so fiction based around that time is automatically interesting. The idea that an educated man of society was commiting these crimes is of course something people have considered but the way Clare Whitfield does it in this novel is thrilling. It's a pacey read and one that kept me guessing throughout. I thought Susannah was really interesting. So used to independence and then having to give that up for the security of marriage, her identity struggles made for an exciting part of the story.

A classic piece of escapism this one!

Miriam Hanna

Aka Mimi. I have known Linda for a very, very long time. We grew up together and you learn very quickly that when she gets an idea in her head, you would be an idiot not to back her to see it through. When the idea of the book club came up it was another lightbulb moment where I knew this wasn't only going to be a success but really fun.


I have always been a bookworm. Remember when you were little and you went shopping with your mum or dad and they gave you a toy or something to occupy yourself with whilst you were in the trolley? I used to get books to keep me quiet. They were and are my ultimate form of escapism and more and more they are about understanding who I am as a person. Books make me cry more than films and TV Shows. I can get lost for hours. I love historic fiction, political thrillers and gritty crime novels but also biographies and memoirs of people I find interesting like sportspeople. I was fortunate to be in the Harry Potter generation and if weren't for those books I don't know what I would have. Young literature was so poor at the point. To have a book that had me and my family queuing up at midnight to buy was seriously special.

Whether you listen to audio books, read off a kindle or stick to carrying around good old fashioned hard copies (that's me!) I truly believe reading is the best way to spend some time every day.


The books I would have with me on a desert island? 📚🏝Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Akzaban, Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters, The Power by Naomi Alderman, Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou, Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

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