Suchergebnisse

This is the first book to focus on the relationships which men formed with their wives in early modern England, making it an important contribution to a new understanding of English, social, family, and gender history. Dr Foyster redresses the balance of historical research which has largely concentrated on the public lives of prominent men. The book looks at youth and courtship before marriage, male fears of their wives'' gossip and sexual betrayal, and male friendships before and after marriage. Highlighted throughout is the importance of sexual reputation. Based on both legal records and fi

One of the most intriguing and challenging problems facing historians of crime and the law is determining what were popular perceptions of criminal behaviour and criminal justice. Each of the articles in this special issue tackles this question by examining the content of British and colonial newspapers that were printed in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The choice of this period is significant both for the history of the press, and for that of criminal justice. It was during the eighteenth century that the newspaper became the dominant form of print culture, with readers enjoying an increasing choice of papers that were printed both in London and in the provinces. As literacy rates improved, and because newspaper stories could be read aloud, the audience for newspapers continued to expand. At the same time, the British state attempted new ways of administering criminal justice. The multiplication of the number of offences that carried the death penalty meant that the criminal code gained notoriety as the 'Bloody Code', while the Transportation Act of 1718, covering England and Wales, authorized the deportation of English and Welsh criminals to the American colonies. By the end of the eighteenth century London magistrates were experimenting with new methods of urban policing, as fears mounted about how the growing population could be both controlled and protected from crime. Newspapers reported, reflected upon and sometimes debated each of these developments, yet remarkably, it is not until now that historians of crime have analysed in any detail what the content of these newspapers can reveal about contemporary attitudes towards crime and justice.

The confinement of married women by their husbands in their homes or in private madhouses was an issue which caused much concern in eighteenth-century England, but which has been little explored by historians. This article uses the records of the court of King's Bench, a source which has been previously neglected by historians of marriage, to explore the circumstances of this form of marital abuse. It shows that within eighteenth-century English law there was much uncertainty about the 'right' of husbands to confine their wives, and that this allowed some men to test the limits of their authority. It argues that although some women were able to adopt legal and extra-legal strategies in response to confinement, changing notions of ideal femininity shaped the ways in which women were able to respond to marital abuse, and left genteel women peculiarly vulnerable to accusations of madness and to subsequent confinement in a madhouse.

Books reviewed in this article:Amanda Vickery, The Gentleman's Daughter: Women's Lives in GeorgianEnglandJill Liddington, Female Fortune: Land, Gender and Authority Laura McCall and Donald Yacovone (eds), A Shared Experience: Men, Women and the History of GenderJohn Tosh, A Man's Place: Masculinity and the Middle‐Class Homein Victorian England

This book explores the ordinary daily routines, behaviours, experiences and beliefs of the Scottish people during a period of immense political, social and economic change. It underlines the importance of the church in post-Reformation Scottish society, but also highlights aspects of everyday life that remained the same, or similar, notwithstanding the efforts of the kirk, employers and the state to alter behaviours and attitudes. Drawing upon and interrogating a range of primary sources, the authors create a richly coloured, highly-nuanced picture of the lives of ordinary Scots from birth through marriage to death. Analytical in approach, the coverage of topics is wide, ranging from the ways people made a living, through their non-work activities including reading, playing and relationships, to the ways they experienced illness and approached death. This volume: Provides a rich and finely nuanced social history of the period 1600-1800 Gets behind the politics of Union and Jacobitism, and the experience of agricultural and industrial 'revolution' Presents the scholarly expertise of its contributing authors in a accessible way Includes a guide to further reading indicating sources for further study