Scottish History in 15 Violent Crimes: Gender, Society and the Law

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Taking fifteen real-life criminal cases prosecuted at the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland between 1700 and 2000, this book explores developments in social attitudes and legal responses to violence. From the last execution for witchcraft to the first prosecution for marital rape, as well as cases of murder, poisoning and infanticide, Scottish History in 15 Violent Crimes examines aspects of masculinity, female agency, emancipation and tolerance.

Using these cases to explore how society has and does perceive different violent crimes, the role of gender, attitudes towards homosexuality, fear of 'the other' and attitudes to capital punishment, Heren compares Scottish examples to others in England and Europe to identify similarities and differences, and to contribute to ongoing debates about gender, crime and the law.

Charting the social and legal developments that emerged in response to violent crime, this book asks why people commit such crimes, who they and their victims were, and how far we have really progressed in our attitudes towards and treatment of violence.

Reviews

A compelling and fascinating compendium of case studies of interpersonal violence, some notorious, others less-known, but all equally disturbing. Presented chronologically it challenges presumptions that society always progresses. The systematic analysis delivers a master-class on how to effectively synthesize and de-sensationalize real-life narratives within their sociolegal, political and historical context. * Kim Stevenson, Professor of Sociolegal History, University of Plymouth, UK *
This is a fascinating and very readable book, giving new insight into the development of Scottish society since 1707. In her sensitive accounts of these 15 cases Louise Heren sheds light on both the development of violent crime, and the violence of criminal laws. * Lindsay Farmer, Professor of Law, University of Glasgow, UK *

Author Bio

Louise Heren is Research Affiliate in the Department of Criminal History at Oxford Brookes University, UK. She is a specialist in early twentieth-century Scottish social and criminal history, and is the author of Sex and Violence in 1920s Scotland (Bloomsbury, 2023).