Crime in England: 1550 - 1800 - Edited by J.S. Cockburn

This volume brings together eleven studies of crime and the administration of the criminal law in England during the early modern period. They represent a variety of approaches - legal, historical and sociological - to the study of historical crime, an area which until now has been little studied.

The initial essay - written from a legal standpoint - is the first coordinated account of the structure of criminal law administration in this formative period. It is followed by investigations into the nature and incidence of crime, court appearance and punishment, separate studies of witchcraft, infanticide and poaching, and an account of conditions in eighteenth-century Newgate. The book provides an extensive analytical bibliography and a critical introduction by Professor G.R. Elton.

Most of the essays are the pioneer findings of younger scholars, and stress both the possibilities and the limitations of the available sources and of different approaches to them. They therefore suggest the direction of future research and provide for the first time an essential foundation for the future development of an increasingly significant field.