Manchester University Press
2 ‘The workhouse or death’
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Ginger S. Frost
Abstract
In the early modern period, the criminal law was strict with mothers of illegitimate children. An infamous statute in 1624 presumed any unwed woman who tried to cover up the death of a newborn illegitimate child as guilty of murder. Mothers were overwhelmingly young and employed in poorly-paid work, mostly domestic labour. The large number of children killed at one or two months indicated the high percentage born in workhouse infirmaries, the last resort for women in labour. Victorian women found guilty but insane were detained 'at Her Majesty's pleasure', which meant anywhere from a year to a lifetime in an asylum. In the twentieth century, judges occasionally released them to the care of their families, but the asylum was a more common destination. Women convicted of infanticides made up half of the female admissions in Perth's criminal lunatic wing in 1902.
Abstract
In the early modern period, the criminal law was strict with mothers of illegitimate children. An infamous statute in 1624 presumed any unwed woman who tried to cover up the death of a newborn illegitimate child as guilty of murder. Mothers were overwhelmingly young and employed in poorly-paid work, mostly domestic labour. The large number of children killed at one or two months indicated the high percentage born in workhouse infirmaries, the last resort for women in labour. Victorian women found guilty but insane were detained 'at Her Majesty's pleasure', which meant anywhere from a year to a lifetime in an asylum. In the twentieth century, judges occasionally released them to the care of their families, but the asylum was a more common destination. Women convicted of infanticides made up half of the female admissions in Perth's criminal lunatic wing in 1902.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements vi
- Introduction 1
- 1 ‘Strangers in the blood’ 14
- 2 ‘The workhouse or death’ 49
- 3 Part of the family? 79
- 4 Courts of last resort 109
- 5 Simple acts of justice 146
- 6 Love and loss 179
- 7 ‘Passed from hand to hand’ 204
- 8 ‘Bad blood’? 238
- Conclusion 266
- Bibliography 276
- Index 292
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements vi
- Introduction 1
- 1 ‘Strangers in the blood’ 14
- 2 ‘The workhouse or death’ 49
- 3 Part of the family? 79
- 4 Courts of last resort 109
- 5 Simple acts of justice 146
- 6 Love and loss 179
- 7 ‘Passed from hand to hand’ 204
- 8 ‘Bad blood’? 238
- Conclusion 266
- Bibliography 276
- Index 292
