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Female Serial Killers in Social Context

Criminological Institutionalism and the Case of Mary Ann Cotton

David Wilson author Elizabeth Yardley author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Policy Press

Published:26th Aug '15

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Female Serial Killers in Social Context cover

Attempts to understand serial murder tend to focus on individual cases rather than the social context in which they occur. In contrast, this book sets the case of nineteenth-century serial killer Mary Ann Cotton in its full social context. Drawing from historical records of Cotton’s court appearances, it shows how institutions such as the family, economy, and religion shaped the environment she inhabited.

"Although there is much written about male serial killers, the female variety, being very much rarer, is little understood. This book is therefore a welcome and important addition to a fascinating topic." Professor David Canter, University of Huddersfield
"This excellent book starkly and powerfully confronts our received understanding of female serial killers. By placing the institutions of family, church and economy in the dock we are forced to move beyond the psychological in grappling with the conditions which give rise to serial killing." Penny Green, Queen Mary, University of London

ISBN: 9781447326458

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

96 pages