Five Worthy Souls

Summary

Five prostitutes are murdered in the East London districts of Spitalfields and Whitechapel in 1888. In present-day Australia, Henry Evans, is a fourth-generation doctor. He and his wife, Claire have three children: Harriet, 13, Lucy, 10 and John, six. Henry and Harriet both relive in their dreams the murders of the so-called canonical five. Their nightmares are frighteningly similar in detail, especially the death of the fifth victim, Mary-Jane Kelly. The family starts to unravel as the nightmares begin to control their lives. Henry believes they are witnessing the actual murders in real time. Harriet’s fraught relationship with her parents deteriorates when she discovers an old journal belonging to a distant relative of her father’s, Bertha Eckersley who lived in 19th century London. Harriet discovers that Bertha is married to Aldrich, who was raised by a prostitute mother. Aldrich has had enough of the impoverished area where he has lived all his life, so they plan a fresh start in the new colony of South Australia. Unbeknownst to Bertha, some of her decisions will impact on Henry Evans and his family more than a century later.