Taking fifteen real-life criminal cases prosecuted at the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland between 1700 and 2000, this book explores developments in social attitudes and legal responses to violence. From the last execution for witchcraft to the first prosecution for marital rape, as well as cases of murder, poisoning and infanticide,
Scottish History in 15 Violent Crimes examines aspects of masculinity, female agency, emancipation and tolerance.
Using these cases to explore how society has and does perceive different violent crimes, the role of gender, attitudes towards homosexuality, fear of 'the other' and attitudes to capital punishment, Heren compares Scottish examples to others in England and Europe to identify similarities and differences, and to contribute to ongoing debates about gender, crime and the law.
Charting the social and legal developments that emerged in response to violent crime, this book asks why people commit such crimes, who they and their victims were, and how far we have really progressed in our attitudes towards and treatment of violence.
By:
Louise Heren (Oxford Brookes University UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781350437227
ISBN 10: 1350437220
Series: History in 15
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 19 February 2026
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgements List of Illustrations Introduction: People, Society and Scots law since 1700 1. John Martin, 1709: Incest and the Law 2. Janet Horne, 1727: Widows and Witchcraft 3. Barbara Malcolm, 1808: Mothers and Infanticide 4. Tron Rioters, 1811: Riots, Murder and Class Conflict 5. Burke and Hare, 1828: Serial murder, Medicine and the Law 6. Margaret Paterson, 1830: Victim, Accuser and Cadaver 7. Madeleine Smith, 1857: Poison, Gender and Morality 8. Patrick Higgins, 1895: Sexual abuse and Disease 9. Oscar Slater, 1919: Murder and 'The Other' 10. Susan Newell, 1923: Murder, Gender and Insanity 11. Robert Handley, 1926: Capital Punishment and Insanity 12 Thomas Lutton, 1928: Incest and Illegitimacy 13 Peter Manuel, 1958: Serial Killer, Mind and Motive 14 Henry John Burnett, 1963: Adultery and Execution 15 Johnson Davis Stallard, 1989: Marital Rape and the Law Conclusion Research Questions & Further Debate Bibliography Index
Louise Heren is Research Affiliate in the Department of Criminal History at Oxford Brookes University, UK. She is a specialist in early twentieth-century Scottish social and criminal history, and is the author of Sex and Violence in 1920s Scotland (Bloomsbury, 2023).
Reviews for Scottish History in 15 Violent Crimes: Gender, Society and the Law
A compelling and fascinating compendium of case studies of interpersonal violence, some notorious, others less-known, but all equally disturbing. Presented chronologically it challenges presumptions that society always progresses. The systematic analysis delivers a master-class on how to effectively synthesize and de-sensationalize real-life narratives within their sociolegal, political and historical context. * Kim Stevenson, Professor of Sociolegal History, University of Plymouth, UK *
