Overview

The story of England's cruellest prison against the backdrop of the forces of radical change in Georgian and Victorian Britain. In 1860, Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote that 'The degree of civilisation in a society can be judged by entering its prisons'. He meant not only that a society can be judged by how it treats its prisoners, but by who it chooses to incarcerate. 66 years earlier, Britain's newest prison had opened its gates in Clerkenwell, north London. Built on the principles of John Howard, the most vocal and committed prison reformer of the eighteenth century, the new Coldbath Fields House of Correction was intended to be a flagship for the humane improvements that Howard championed. Instead, within just a few years, it would become notorious for its cruelty and injustice. The history of the prison and the stories of its inmates, including not only thieves, vagabonds and prostitutes, but political reformers, mutineers, writers and clergymen, provides an extraordinary new insight into the forces of radical change shaking Georgian England to its core. AUTHOR: Stephen Haddelsey is the author of many books on Antarctic exploration history, including Ice Captain, Born Adventurer and Icy Graves, as well as other topics. He lives in Nottinghamshire. 16 b/w illustrations

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9781803998879

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Reviews

‘I admired London’s Bastille a great deal: a feat of patient and forensic scholarship, it is also vividly written and driven by a propulsive historical narrative, full of fascinating biographical anecdotes as well as intriguing details about London in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. At a time when Britain’s prison system is once again in crisis, London’s Bastille is also all too relevant.’ -- Professor Matthew Beaumont, author of ""Night Walking: A Nocturnal History of London"" ‘In this remarkable book, Stephen Haddelsey… paints a wonderfully compelling portrait of the great, centuries-long struggle in British public life between reformers and reactionaries, between the desire for social progress and a concomitant drive to protect the present.’ -- Lord Ken Macdonald Kt., KC, President of The Howard League for Penal Reform ‘A deep dive into the history of London’s most notorious gaol to discover whether the punishment really did fit the crime in late Georgian England, London’s Bastille is both fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable.’ -- Fiona Rule, author of The Worst Street in London

Author Information

STEPHEN HADDELSEY is the author of multiple works of historical non-fiction, including Poor Bickerton: A Journey to the Dark Heart of Georgian England and Icy Graves: Exploration and Death in the Antarctic. He was awarded a PhD by the University of East Anglia and has been elected to fellowship of both the Royal Geographical and Royal Historical societies. He is an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of East Anglia and lives with his wife, son and terriers in rural Nottinghamshire.

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