Evangelicalism, Penal Theory and the Politics of Criminal Law: Reform in England, 1808-30

by R. Follett

Overview

Following the abolition of the British slave trade in 1807, a group of politicians began to agitate for reform of England's "bloody code" of criminal statutes. This examines the politics and propaganda of criminal law reform from 1808 to the Whig succession to power in 1830.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780333803882
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	03/07/2001
Series:	Studies in Modern History Series
Edition description:	2001
Pages:	245
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.68(d)

About the Author

Richard R. Follett is Professor of History, University College and Washington University.

Table of Contents

Mitigating the "Bloody Code": an Introduction
• Raising the Hue and Cry, 1808-1810
• Romilly, Bentham, and Utility
• Evangelicalism and Penal Law Reform
• The Evangelical Approach to Criminal Law Reform
• The Conservative Resistance
• Mobilizing Opinion, 1811-1818
• The Partnership: Mackintosh and Buxton, 1819-1823
• Consolidation, Mitigation, and Conclusions

Editorial Reviews

'...a comprehensive and eminently readable account of a complex subject...' - Simon Devereaux, Journal of Modern History

From the Publisher

A "mild revision" of the dim picture of English penal law and attempts at its reform in the early 19th century. Follett (history, Washington U., St. Louis) writes that "one must face the fact that what we value as civilized and humane at the beginning of the 21st century was very much shaped by the debates and reforms of the early 19th. I do not intend to describe a simple picture ... What follows is instead a complex and sometimes 'thick' description of the actors and acts, and the texts and contexts, that surrounded and created the criminal law reforms of early-19th century England." Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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