Rubenhold said that she had been accused of trying to make Jack the Ripper work for the #MeToo age, even though she started writing the book before the movement started. There’s also the fact that Jack the Ripper committed crimes more than 100 years, well before #MeToo existed in its current form.

And she’d been accused of having a cynical, feminist agenda for writing the book.

“It is absolutely absurd, it’s offensive and it’s laughable,” she said.

We’d agree with all of those — it’s absurd, offensive and laughable that trolls are het up about five women whose lives were stolen and who were treated appallingly after their deaths.

Rubenhold’s book shines a much-needed light on the victims of a man who has fascinated people for generations. It’s time to stop focusing on the killer, and start remembering Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Jane.

Image: Morgan Williams/Hay Festival

Author Hallie Rubenhold has been trolled for writing about Jack the Ripper’s victims