William Cuffay: the 19th century’s forgotten black, British, working-class hero

After receiving such a positive response to my recent blog post about John Frost, a leading Chartist transported during the 1800s, I decided to continue going down this path for my research blog and stumbled across William Cuffay. Black, disabled and working class in 19th century Britain yet a leading figure in the Chartist movement,...

The Criminal Slang of Oliver Twist

When reading Oliver Twist, I was intrigued by the language used by characters such as the Artful Dodger. It was a distinct type of slang; a few of the terms I am familiar with and hear used today, but most of the words left me wondering about what they could mean. I decided to look...

Juvenile Delinquency: theatre’s fault or moral panic?

In the aftermath of the original serialisation of Oliver Twist and the publication of the novel Jack Sheppard, there was a link made between reading this type of crime filled literature and a rise in juvenile delinquency. Searching for ‘Jack Sheppard’, on the British Newspaper Archives, many stories from throughout the 1800s are headlined: ‘A...

Convict Tokens: John Frost – Political Prisoner

Nowadays, Australia is seen as a popular holiday destination among Brits, with many even voluntarily making the big move down under and becoming expats. Things weren’t always this way though. From 1787, Britain occupied Australia as a penal colony, transporting thousands of criminals each year - what is thought to be over 160,000. Love tokens...

Moll Flanders: Penitent or Pretender?

Daniel Defoe’s 1722 novel Moll Flanders is thought of by many as the story of a criminal turned penitent. Yet, upon reading Defoe’s preface, it seems that this is far from the case, as he claims ‘penitent’ is something Moll simply ‘pretends to be’ (ch.1). Does Moll’s narrative contradict this? From the very beginning of his...