Public indecency in England 1857-1960 : "a serious and growing evil" / David J. Cox, Kim Stevenson, Candida Harris, and Judith Rowbotham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cox, David J.

Contributor:

Lipman Criminology Library Fund.

Series:

Routledge SOLON explorations in crime and criminal justice histories ; 6.

Routledge SOLON explorations in crime and criminal justice histories ; 6

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Criminology--Great Britain--History--19th century.

Criminology.

Criminology--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Sexual assault--Great Britain.

Sexual assault.

History.

Great Britain.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xviii, 198 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2015.

Summary:

"Throughout the nineteenth century and twentieth century, various attempts were made to define and control problematic behaviour in public by legal and legislative means through the use of a somewhat nebulous concept of "indecency". Remarkably however, public indecency remains a much under-researched aspect of English legal, social and criminal justice history. Covering a period of just over a century, from 1857 (the date of the passing of the first Obscene Publications Act) to 1960 (the date of the famous trial of Penguin Books over their publication of Lady Chatterley's Lover following the introduction of a new Obscene Publications Act in the previous year), Public Indecency in England investigates the social and cultural obsession with various forms of indecency and how public perceptions of different types of indecent behaviour led to legal definitions of such behaviour in both common law and statute. This truly interdisciplinary book utilises socio-legal, historical and criminological research to discuss the practical response of both the police and the judiciary to those caught engaging in public indecency, as well as to highlight the increasing problems faced by moralists during a period of unprecedented technological developments in the fields of visual and aural mass entertainment. It is written in a lively and approachable style and, as such, is of interest to academics and students engaged in the study of deviance, law, criminology, sociology, criminal justice, socio-legal studies, and history. It will also be of interest to the general reader"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 The historical background: Indecency and the rise of moral activism 13

2 The intensification of the indecency agenda 1857-1885 28

3 'Demoralization' and moral activism: Fighting the 'serious and growing evil' 1885-1908 45

4 A real or imagined enigma? 'Stemming the tide of corruption': Indecency 1908-1960 67

5 'Indecorous and inexpedient': Visual and aural indecency in the dramatic arts 1857-1960 103

6 Indecency in practice: The policing and judicial response 133

7 Intoxicated indecency: How the drink problem was resolved 158

8 Conclusion 177.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-191) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Lipman Criminology Library Fund.

ISBN:

0415524717

9780415524711

OCLC:

899949622

Publisher Number:

99966443085