The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

Author:Hallie Rubenhold
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HMH Books

From the time Mrs. Malcolm first encountered “her sister,” she claimed that drink was Elisabeth Stride’s primary failing. She was always in need of money, and Mary “had her doubts” about what she did for a living. However, as family, she felt compelled to assist her. For the next five years, the two women met at least once a week, and sometimes more frequently. Mrs. Malcolm handed over two shillings to Elisabeth every Saturday at four o’clock on the corner of Chancery Lane. Occasionally she gave Elisabeth clothing as well. Regardless of appearances, Mary did harbor some doubts about Elisabeth. In fact, during the five-year period she met with her, she insisted on keeping Elisabeth at an arm’s length. Mrs. Malcolm had never invited “her sister” into her home, claiming, “I was always grateful to get rid of her.” When asked if her husband or anyone else had known about her meetings with “her sister,” she confessed, “No, I kept that from everyone. I was so ashamed.”8

Mary Malcolm’s shame in part may have stemmed from her persistence in maintaining the relationship with Elisabeth in spite of her concerns. So long as Mary did not scrutinize Elisabeth too closely, she could continue to fool herself, while Elisabeth successfully managed to hide from Mary the true circumstances of her life.

In October 1884, Elisabeth received word that John, whose health had been deteriorating for some time, had been admitted to the Stepney Sick Asylum. There, he died of heart disease at the age of sixty-three. He was buried on the thirtieth of the month, and within weeks, Elisabeth’s life rapidly spiraled downward.

Certainly it is no coincidence that by November 13, Elisabeth was arrested on the Commercial Road for soliciting.9 That she was also charged with drunk and disorderly behavior betrays her anguished state of mind. The desire to numb herself and her rage at the world were natural. Frederick Merrick, the chaplain of Millbank Prison, observed that most of his female inmates “loathed” selling sex on the streets and that “their repugnance to it could only be stifled when they were more or less under the influence of intoxicating drinks.”10 For her offenses, the judge gave Elisabeth a prison sentence of seven days’ hard labor. Following this, there is no evidence that she was ever arrested again for soliciting.

It was after John’s death that Elisabeth met and took up residence with another man, Michael Kidney. Kidney was a waterside laborer, a dockworker who loaded and unloaded vessels and earned some extra income as a volunteer in the army reserve. In his midthirties, he was several years younger than his new paramour but always assumed, based on her appearance, that they were roughly the same age. It is believed that the two met on the Commercial Road, though whether it was by accident or while Elisabeth was soliciting is uncertain. The relationship soon became a firm one, and the couple rented a series of dingy furnished rooms together, first on Devonshire Street and then on nearby Fashion Street.

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