Wayward Women: Female Offending in Victorian England

by Lucy Williams

We most often think of the Victorian female offender in her most archetypal and stereotypical roles; the polite lady shoplifter, stowing all manner of valuables beneath her voluminous crinolines, the tragic street waif of Dickensian fiction or the vicious femme fatale who wreaked her terrible revenge with copious poison. Yet the stories in popular novels and the Penny Dreadfuls of the day have passed down to us only half the story of these women and their crimes. From the everyday street scuffles and pocket pickings of crowded slums, to the sensational trials that dominated national headlines; the women of Victorian England were responsible for a diverse and at times completely unexpected level of deviance. This book takes a closer look at women and crime in the Victorian period. With vivid real-life stories, powerful photos, eye-opening cases and wider discussions that give us an insightful illustration of the lives of the women responsible for them. This history of brawlers, thieves, traffickers and sneaks shows individuals navigating a world where life was hard and resources were scarce. Their tales are of poverty, opportunism, violence, hope and despair; but perhaps most importantly, the story of survival in the ruthless world of the past.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2020

Reviews

[Deborah Siddoway · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining read which did not get bogged down by too much historical detail. The individual stories of the wayward female offenders were engaging, however, I sometimes felt the author was more concerned with revealing the narrative than actually analysing the effect of the era's laws on the women who were subject to them. It would be instructive to take the stories in this book one step further, remembering always how appallingly few rights Victorian women enjoyed. Women did not lose custody of their children when marriage broke down, the children were always the property of their father. I thing a greater understanding of the social and legal framework of the time would have strengthened the book. That said, it has given me a lot to think about and more to explore.

[Annette Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Research

[Emma Dargue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good. A history about female offending during Victorian England. Informative and to the point.