Class, servitude, and the criminal justice system in early Victorian London

• Verfasst von: May, Allyson N. [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Class, servitude, and the criminal justice system in early Victorian London
• Titelzusatz: the Russell murder
• Verf.angabe: Allyson N. May
• Verlagsort: New York ; London
• Verlag: Routledge
• Jahr: 2025
• Umfang: xv, 241 Seiten
• Illustrationen: Illustrationen
• Gesamttitel/Reihe: Routledge studies in modern British history
• ISBN: 978-1-032-77170-0
• Schlagwörter: (g)London / (s)Recht / (s)Todesstrafe / (s)Kriminalistik / (z)Geschichte 1800-1900
• Sprache: eng
• Sach-SW: British & Irish history
• Sach-SW: Europäische Geschichte
• Sach-SW: Geschichte: Theorie und Methoden
• Sach-SW: HIS015060
• Sach-SW: HISTORY / Social History
• Sach-SW: HISTORY / Study & Teaching
• Sach-SW: History: theory & methods
• Sach-SW: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900
• Sach-SW: Social & cultural history
• Sach-SW: Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte
• Geograph. SW: London, Greater London
• Geograph. SW: London, Greater London
• Zeit-SW: Viktorianische Periode (1837 bis 1901)
• Zeit-SW: c 1800 to c 1900
• K10plus-PPN: 1903789052

Abstract

"This volume draws on the recently discovered and extraordinarily rich scrapbook compiled by prosecuting solicitor Francis Hobler about the 1840 murder of Lord William Russell to consider public engagement with the issues raised from discovery of the murder itself through the ensuing legal processes. The murder of Russell by his valet François Benjamin Courvoisier was a cause célèbre in its own day by virtue of fact that the victim was a member of one of England's most prominent political families. For criminal justice historians, the significance of this case lies instead in its timing. In 1840, England had neither an official detective force to investigate the murder nor a public prosecutor to undertake the prosecution. Those accused of felony had only recently (1836) won the right to full legal representation, and the conduct of Courvoisier's defense was controversial. Reaction to Courvoisier's execution was also noteworthy, testifying to a new public unease with capital punishment. The subject of master and servant relations in early Victorian England is another key component of the book: previous studies have not considered the murderer's motivation. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of criminal justice and law, Victorian England, and microhistory"--