Explore this international collection of materials to enhance understanding of the evolution of criminal justice and penal reform
With 2.1 million pages of trial transcripts, police and forensic reports, detective novels, newspaper accounts, true crime literature, and related ephemera, Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture, 1790-1920 presents the broadest and deepest collection of materials supporting the study of nineteenth-century criminal history, law, literature, and justice. This quintessential resource enhances understanding of the intersection of law and society during a pivotal era of social change.
This unique international collection helps researchers explore the causes and effects of the rise in crime during the Industrial Revolution, the development of metropolitan police departments, and the public's fascination with increasingly sensational accounts of crime in newspapers and fiction. It covers changing attitudes about punishment and reform that led to such practices as solitary confinement, prison work programs, and penal transportation, as well as "scientific" theories such as phrenology, which posited that character could be determined by physiognomy.
Only Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture, 1790-1920 helps users explore the links between fact and fiction by integrating legal and historical documents with literature, an emerging crime-fiction genre, newspaper reports, and more.
- History
- Literature
- Women’s studies
- American studies
- British studies
- Criminal justice
- Sociology
FEATURED REVIEW
“There is much remarkable material here……Not only is the content extraordinary, but the navigation through these primary sources is the fast and easy. VERDICT This enthralling and straight-forward file will be well worth its purchase price to libraries supporting serious legal, historical, and criminal justice researchers.”
- Cheryl LaGuardia, Library Journal, April 2016
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Additional Details
subjects covered
- European Studies
- Gender & Women's Studies
- Humanities & Social Sciences
- Sociology
- Law & Legal Studies
- Criminal Justice
- Government
- U.S. History
Platform Features & Tools
Term Frequency
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Topic Finder
By grouping commonly occurring themes, this tool reveals hidden connections within search terms—helping to shape research by integrating diverse content with relevant information.
Cross-Search Capability
Search across the content of complementary primary source products, including books, in one united, intuitive environment, enabling innovative new research connections.