Crime in England 1815-1880

‘This book will very quickly and deservedly become a well-thumbed and leading reference point for everyone interested in nineteenth-century crime. Johnston has produced an eminently readable and engaging review of how society perceived, rationalized and responded to criminal activity during this period. The text expertly and seamlessly synthesizes the existing literature with real-life case studies and archive material, creating a rich and vivid narrative. Johnston has truly earned her place amongst the elite writers in this field.’ - Kim Stevenson, Professor of SocioLegal History, Plymouth Law School, UK

‘This valuable and wide-ranging study illuminates changing public and official attitudes toward crime, criminality and offenders across the long nineteenth century. It charts the evolving English criminal justice system through attention to provincial offenders and local prisons, as well as the increasing penal reach of central government. The detailed and often poignant case studies of individual adult and juvenile offenders add depth to our understanding of offenders' lives and behaviour and of the wider impacts of summary justice, penal servitude, transportation and capital punishment.’ - Vivien Miller, Associate Professor, American and Canadian Studies, University of Nottingham, UK

‘This is a comprehensive, accessible and well-written text, which links effectively the different sectors of the nineteenth-century English criminal justice system. The author offers a multidimensional analysis, highlighting the impact of changing contexts and attitudes, engaging with key areas of historical debate and presenting evocative in depth case studies in each chapter. The latter in particular will help bring the nineteenth-century criminal justice system and its impact on individual offenders to life. In addition, this book includes a fascinating range of primary source examples and images, always supporting arguments made with plenty of evidence. This book will provide an excellent introduction to the nineteenth-century criminal justice system in England and its impact on those who were subject to its mechanisms.’ - Alyson Brown, Professor of History, Edge Hill University, UK

'In the last half century, criminal justice history has grown considerably, aided in part by newly accessible and organized archives... Johnston does not inundate readers with statistics, and she does not hew to any particular ideology. She does an able job of presenting historiographical fashions. This is a good state-of-the-art account, always welcome. Summing up: Recommended'— P. T. Smith, emeritus, Saint Joseph's University, CHOICE Reviews