The Dreadfuls
The Whitechapel Hall Reformatory (Buck’s Row Board School), a dismal prison-like, multi-storey house of delinquent girls, sits on Buck’s Row (now Durward Street). Religion, laundry, cleaning, and more religion fill the tiresome days. Newly admitted, sharp-witted, Adelaide (Dell) Morton revels in all things macabre, soaking up penny bloods and ghoulish crime, checking every corner of her world for evidence of the grotesque. Lack of space in the dormitory should indicate Dell has her own attic room with space to indulge her fantasies and exact her escape. Unfortunately, she’s not alone. She has Philippa (Pippa) Fitzroy, a picture of perfect composure, to contend with. How will they find a compromise?
First, the feisty Dell digs out the dreadfuls (the ones her uncle didn’t find to burn!) and surprisingly Pippa catches on with gusto. In turn, Pippa shows Dell her secret hideout, a rooftop ledge where she watches the Whitechapel streets far below. There’s that and her contraband tobacco, of which the wayward Dell is eager to partake. So begins a steadfast friendship of uncomplicated devotion which survives and thrives despite a grim existence.
Dunlap ties the murder conviction of Constance Kent (imprisoned 1860-1880) into a key plot role with the 1888 Ripper killings. Curbed from straying by strict off-property rules, the girls pick up Cook’s meat order each day. Young Noah Levy runs his father’s butcher shop and becomes a trusted friend, helping the girls unravel clues to the Mary Ann Nichols and Annie Chapman murders. From their bird’s-eye-view, the girls watch nighttime comings and goings from the reformatory. Noah does the spying down below. Despite setbacks, Dell is undaunted, employing proficient detective skills against a killer, but not without danger to herself and trusted friends. This is a fast-paced gothic thriller with ample scope for Dell’s gory obsessions, nevertheless tying events neatly into a rewarding conclusion.
