Lost Londons
Change, Crime, and Control in the Capital City, 1550–1660

A study of the swift growth and transformation of early modern London.

Paul Griffiths (Author)

9780521885249, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 August 2008

564 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 3.9 cm, 1.03 kg

'This ought to be compulsory reading for undergraduates who want to imagine the feel, the smell, the jumble and the make-do-and-mend of Elizabethan London.' Cultural and Social History

A major study of the transformation of early modern London. By focusing on policing, prosecution, and the language and perceptions of the authorities and the underclasses, Paul Griffiths explores the swift growth of London and the changes to its cultures, communities, and environments. Through a series of thematic chapters he maps problem areas and people; reconstructs the atmosphere of the streets; and traces the development of policing in the city. The book provided the first full study of petty crime before 1660, analysing worlds and words of crime, criminal rings and cultures, and tracking changing meanings of crime to reveal alternative emphases on environmental crimes and crimes committed by women. It also examines the key roles of Bridewell prison, hospitals, medical provision, and penal practices, shedding light on investigation, detection, surveillance, and public prosecution. Viewed through this fascinating account, the city will never look the same again.

Introduction: rhetorics and records
Part I. Change: 1. Troubled times
2. Mapping troubles
3. Streets
Part II. Crime: 4. Crime: worlds
5. Crime: words
Part III. Control: 6. Court days
7. Bodies
8. Policing: people and policy
9. Policing: night battles
10. Policing: process and prosecution
11. Policing: knowledge
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], British & Irish history [HBJD1]