Studying 18th-century criminals makes me look at my modern prejudice

By Stephen Basdeo. In the last year of my undergraduate history degree I was introduced to one of the most fascinating genres of literature: the 18th-century criminal biography. Tomes such as Charles Johnson’s Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals (1734) catalogue the experiences of thieves, rogues and prostitutes. I haven’t been able to leave them alone since. And now my enthusiasm for little-known crime writers of the 1700s is being kept alive by my PhD on 18th- and 19th-century literary representations of outlaws and highwaymen. More...