Description
Over the long eighteenth century English governance was transformed by large adjustments to the legal instruments and processes of power. This book documents and analyzes these shifts and focuses upon the changing relations between legal authority and the English people.
"This is an impressive work of scholarship. Lemmings offers an analysis of the changing nature of criminal law and civil litigation, and contextualizes this within an exploration of the effect of the new parliament after the Glorious Revolution. He describes a process that saw government grow to dominate society in a way that it had never done before; thus 'in the eighteenth century parliament became Leviathan' (p.128). Parliament, released from the restrictions imposed upon it by the predilictions of previous monarchs, flexed its muscles and passed thousands of individual acts that affected the lives of millions. The emphasis was on control, so the 1714 Riot Act, the infamous Waltham Black Act in 1723 and the 1718 Transportation Act, all of which addressed the problems of crime and civil order (or disorder)...Lemmings has written a challenging book, one that historians of the period need to engage with." - Drew Gray, University of Northampton, UK
About the Author
DAVID LEMMINGSProfessor of History at the University of Adelaide, Australia. He has published several books on legal culture and governance in eighteenth century England andis editor (with Clare Walker) of Moral Panics, the Media and Law in Early Modern England (2009).
Reviews
Book Information
ISBN 9781137506955
Author D. Lemmings
Format Paperback
Page Count 269
Imprint Palgrave Macmillan
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
"This is an impressive work of scholarship. Lemmings offers an analysis of the changing nature of criminal law and civil litigation, and contextualizes this within an exploration of the effect of the new parliament after the Glorious Revolution. He describes a process that saw government grow to dominate society in a way that it had never done before; thus 'in the eighteenth century parliament became Leviathan' (p.128). Parliament, released from the restrictions imposed upon it by the predilictions of previous monarchs, flexed its muscles and passed thousands of individual acts that affected the lives of millions. The emphasis was on control, so the 1714 Riot Act, the infamous Waltham Black Act in 1723 and the 1718 Transportation Act, all of which addressed the problems of crime and civil order (or disorder)...Lemmings has written a challenging book, one that historians of the period need to engage with." - Drew Gray, University of Northampton, UK
About the Author
DAVID LEMMINGSProfessor of History at the University of Adelaide, Australia. He has published several books on legal culture and governance in eighteenth century England andis editor (with Clare Walker) of Moral Panics, the Media and Law in Early Modern England (2009).
Reviews
"This work bridges an important gap between two eras of English political and social history. ... this work deserves the wide audience it will undoubtedly find." (Aaron Graham, The Journal of the Historical Association, October, 2016)
"This is an enlightening and detailed study, ambitious in its scope and depth. David Lemmings has produced an excellent body of research on law and governance in the eighteenth century and his vast knowledge is reflected in this book. ... this book reveals a fascinating aspect of eighteenth-century society and its governance, and will appeal broadly to anybody with an interest in early modern English history." (Tessa Morrison, Parergon, Vol. 33 (1), 2016)
Book Information
ISBN 9781137506955
Author D. Lemmings
Format Paperback
Page Count 269
Imprint Palgrave Macmillan
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
