NEW EDITION:
ALBION’S FATAL TREE: CRIME AND SOCIETY IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLAND
By DOUGLAS HAY, PETER LINEBAUGH, JOHN G. RULE, E.P. THOMPSON and CAL WINSLOW
Published: 7 NOVEMBER 2011
--------------------------------
“The 18th century will never be the same again” – ERIC HOBSBAWM
“Ought to be made compulsory reading” – GUARDIAN
--------------------------------
In the popular imagination, informed as it is by Hogarth, Swift, Defoe and Fielding, the eighteenth-century underworld is a place of bawdy knockabout, rife with colourful eccentrics. But the artistic portrayals we have only hint at the dark reality. In this new edition of a classic collection of essays, renowned social historians from Britain and America examine the gangs of criminals who tore apart English society, while a criminal law of unexampled savagery struggled to maintain stability.
Douglas Hay deals with the legal system that maintained the propertied classes, and in another essay shows it in brutal action against poachers; John G. Rule and Cal Winslow tell of smugglers and wreckers, showing how these activities formed a natural part of the life of traditional communities. Together with Peter Linebaugh’s piece on the riots against the surgeons at Tyburn, and E. P. Thompson’s illuminating work on anonymous threatening letters, these essays form a powerful contribution to the study of social tensions at a transformative and vibrant stage in English history.
This new edition includes a new introduction by Winslow, Hay and Linebaugh, with a preface by Iain Boal, reflecting on the turning point in the social history of crime that the book represents.
---------------------------------
Further praise for ALBION’S FATAL TREE:
“Immensely advances our understanding both of Hanoverian England and of the relationship between law and society in general” – KEITH THOMAS
“Provocative, full of insights into neglected phrases of eighteenth-century social history, and at times profound.” – J. H. PLUMB, OBSERVER
“Close, meticulous scholarship, imagination, a joyous use of literary and ‘qualitative’ evidence…and the driving force of commitment make it memorable.” – GUARDIAN
“Erudite…and elegantly pungent” – CLAUD COCKBURN, author of BEAT THE DEVIL
---------------------------------
DOUGLAS HAY is Professor in Law and History at York University. His most recent book is CRIMINAL CASES ON THE CROWN SIDE OF KING’S BENCH (1740-1800). PETER LINEBAUGH is a Professor of History at the University of Toledo. His books include THE LONDON HANGED. JOHN G. RULE was Professor of History at the University of Southampton until his retirement and the author of ALBION’S PEOPLE. E.P. THOMPSON was an English historian whose many books include THE MAKING OF THE ENGLISH WORKING CLASS. CAL WINSLOW is a Fellow in Environmental Politics at UC Berkeley and Director of the Mendocino Institute and co-editor of REBEL RANK AND FILE.
---------------------------------
ISBN: 978 1 84467 716 0 / $26.95/£16.99/$33.50CAN / Paperback / 400 pages
-----------------------------------
For more information about ALBION’S FATAL TREE, or to buy the book visit:
http://www.versobooks.com/books/979-albions-fatal-tree
---------------------------------
Academics can request an inspection copy. For further information please go to: http://www.versobooks.com/pg/desk-copies
---------------------------------
Visit Verso’s website for information on our upcoming events, new reviews and publications and special offers: http://www.versobooks.com
Become a fan of Verso on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Verso-Books/205847279448577
And get updates on Twitter too!
http://twitter.com/VersoBooks
--------------------------------------------------------
MeCCSA mailing list
--------------------------------------------------------
To manage your subscription or unsubscribe from the MECCSA list, please visit:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MECCSA&A=1
-------------------------------------------------------
MeCCSA is the subject association for the field of media, communication and cultural studies in UK Higher Education. Membership is open to all who teach and research these subjects in HE institutions, via either institutional or individual membership. The field includes film and TV production, journalism, radio, photography, creative writing, publishing, interactive media and the web; and it includes higher education for media practice as well as for media studies.
This mailing list is a free service from MeCCSA and is not restricted to members.
For further information, please visit: http://www.meccsa.org.uk/
--------------------------------------------------------
|