If truth be told, the blogging aspect of this Prison Voices module initially filled me with dread. I had no previous experience of writing a blog and I felt that other students who had this experience would make my work stand out (and not in a good way!). Writing for a public audience was nerve-wracking, especially when... Continue Reading →
Research Blog: How authentic were prisoner memoirs?
Prisoner memoirs were often used in order to obtain the authentic voice of the prisoner, as they were seen as the criminal's honest reflections on their prison experiences. However, how truly authentic were they? There are certainly factors that may have impacted on the reliability of a prisoner memoir. In this blog post I will... Continue Reading →
Comparing Oliver and The Artful Dodger; how does Dickens use language to present criminality?
Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist expresses the struggles of many people in the Victorian period, especially in the major cities such as London. Life was extremely difficult for the poor; many orphans were left no choice but to be sent to the workhouse, or they were employed by older men in the art of pickpocketing (as... Continue Reading →
Criminal Broadsides: The Forgery (Or Not!) Of The Madwoman
Criminal broadsides, often labelled 'The Last Dying Speeches' [1] were a one-sided sheet of paper containing the confessions and trials of condemned criminals. They were viewed as the ‘popular literature of ordinary people’ [2] and the forerunner of the popular press. This subcategory of the street literature industry was mocking and condemning, but most importantly,... Continue Reading →
On Trial: Mina Jury, a woman who was certainly used to the jury!
The United Kingdom saw two different criminal punishment systems in the nineteenth century: transportation (which ended in the 1857) and penal servitude (beginning in 1853). [1] Whilst I was searching through the Old Bailey Online and the Digital Panopticon, Mina Jury's journey through the criminal justice system stood out to me as she was a... Continue Reading →
Was there an ulterior motive behind prisoner ‘memoirs’?
Prisoner memoirs are often used in order to obtain the authentic voice of a prisoner. In this blog I shall be exploring the memoir of Frederick Brocklehurst, committed for "addressing the people on social and labour questions in a secluded part of Boggart Clough". [1] What stood out to me most about this 'guiltless crime',... Continue Reading →
Exploring micro-narratives: Crook by name, crook by nature
Love tokens were a way for transported convicts to leave behind a memento for their loved ones back in England. They were simple coins which had been smoothed over and redesigned. Engravings sometimes included their name, a message and a drawing. As I was searching through the love tokens, that of George Robotham's stood out... Continue Reading →
The fortunes and misfortunes of the famous Moll Flanders: isn’t it ironic?
Welcome readers! In my first blog post, I am going to draw out the ironic aspects of Moll Flanders (1722) and explore the different ways in which Daniel Defoe employs it throughout the novel. Moll Flanders is such a rich text, and it is widely considered to be one of the first novels in... Continue Reading →
Prison Voices 