It has long been suggested that poverty was responsible for a criminal underclass emerging in Britain during the nineteenth century. Until quite recently, historians did little to challenge this perception. Using innovative quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques, this book looks in detail at some of the causal factors that motivated the poorer classes to commit crime, or act in ways that transgressed acceptable standards of behaviour. It demonstrates how the strategies that these individuals employed varied between urban and rural environments, and shows how the poor railed...
It has long been suggested that poverty was responsible for a criminal underclass emerging in Britain during the nineteenth century. Until quite re...