Crime and Consequence in Early Modern Literature and Law

Judith Hudson is an Associate Lecturer in the Department of English, Theatre and Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, University of London. Her articles have appeared in The Seventeenth Century and Textual Practice, as well as in several edited volumes. Her research focuses on early modern literature and law.

• AcknowledgementsNote on Spelling, Citation and AbbreviationIntroduction1. ‘Vipers in the bosom of our Law’: The Emergence of Perjury as a Common Law Offence2. ‘Hollow-hearted angels’: Coins, Counterfeits and the Discourses of Treason3. ‘The Woman’s Case put to the Lawyers’: Miscarriage of Justice and the Case of Anne Greene4. Pardon and Oblivion: Pardon, Benefit of Clergy, Peine Forte et Dure5. ‘England’s Rubidg’: Mary Carleton and the Early Use of TransportationBibliography

With this book, Hudson joins a rich and growing interdisciplinary conversation on law and literature in early modern England, artfully engaging with scholarship in history, literary studies, theory, and law... Crime and Consequence is a model contribution to this field, gracefully weaving together analysis of a broad range of scholarly interpretations and a rich tapestry of early modern sources, including court decisions, sermons, pamphlets, legal tomes, and numerous dramatic works.