The CLCC Lecturer shared her expertise as part of the series exploring the real lives of the victims of Jack the Ripper.

Dr Jennifer Wallis has featured in the history podcast series Bad Women hosted by Hallie Rubenhold. Based on Rubenhold's prize-winning book The Five, the podcast series explores and contextualises the lives of the five victims of Jack the Ripper, with a focus entirely on the women and not on their murderer.

In Episode 15, Jennifer spoke to Hallie about the case of Jacob Levy, a man who spent time in a Victorian asylum due to his struggles with mental illness - leading to speculation among some that he was Jack the Ripper. Drawing on her research for her book Investigating the Body in the Victorian Asylum (2017), Jennifer discusses the diagnosis of 'General Paralysis of the Insane' and how the complexities of the condition make it difficult to be sure about Jacob's condition.

Listen to Bad Women Episode 15 (Apple Podcasts)

Jennifer Wallis is historian of medicine and psychiatry and teaches Horizons module History of Modern Medicine & the Body. Her research interests include the history of psychiatry, Victorian cultural history, the history of pathology and post-mortem work, and the history of medical technologies.