19th Century… Blind Justice in Eugene Sue’s “The Mysteries of Paris” (1842–3) 26 Jul 201826 Jul 2018 By Stephen Basdeo In the 19 June 1842, issue of the Parisian magazine, Journal des Debats, a new serialised novel appeared entitled The Mysteries of Paris, which ran weekly until 15 October 1843.…
18th century… ‘The Prince of Pick-Pockets’: George Barrington (1755-1804) 12 May 201712 May 2017 George Waldron, alias Barrington, was born into a poor family at Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Although destitute, his mother and father made sure to learn that he could read and…
18th century… John Terry (d.1803): A Yorkshire Murderer 29 Apr 201729 Apr 2017 All too often histories of crime focus upon what happened in the big cities such as London, Manchester, and New York. Part of the reason for this is that, as…
18th century… From Barman to Highwayman: The Case of William Hawke (d.1774) 16 Jan 201716 Jan 2017 Not every highwayman throughout history has achieved the fame of Robin Hood (sup. fl. 12th-13th centuries), Rob Roy (1671-1734), Dick Turpin (1705-1739), or Jack Sheppard (1702-1724). The names of most…
bandits… My Forthcoming Book: “The Lives and Exploits of the Most Noted Highwaymen, Rogues, and Murderers” (2018) 23 Dec 2016 In addition to my PhD thesis entitled ‘The Changing Faces of Robin Hood, c.1700-c.1900’ and my forthcoming book, The Mob Reformer: The Life and Legend of Wat Tyler (2018), I…
17th century… Capt. Alexander Smith’s “A History of the Lives and Robberies of the Most Notorious Highwaymen, Footpads, Shoplifts, and Cheats” (1714) 10 Jul 2016 The eighteenth century was a period which witnessed a great deal of interest in crime. With a rising crime rate, and an inefficient system of law enforcement that consisted of…
