‘Star Men’ in English Convict Prisons, 1879-1948

"""In tracking down the biographies, crimes and fate of his subjects – the ‘Star Men’ - Bethell shows exemplary scholarship, energy and ingenuity. He has drawn back the covers and this book presents us with a fascinating conspectus of an important aspect of English social and penal history, hitherto largely obscured"". - Professor Seán McConville, Queen Mary University of London, UK ""Bethell’s work makes a major contribution to prison history. It is the first text to focus wholly on the creation and lifespan of the star class, introduced to segregate first offenders from contamination by those inured to crime. The star class provides a lens through which this well-written and well-researched book reveals the contingent and diverse nature of convict incarceration and enables Bethell to challenge some established historiography about penal policy. Bureaucratic investigations that underpinned the composition of the star class reveal a great deal about the influence of class-based thinking."" - Professor Alyson Brown, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK ""This fascinating research explores the complexities of the 'star class', a system of prison classification used in the convict system, for first-time offenders. Bethell skilfully resurrects the challenges that this class presented, not only to the administrators, but also to the prison regime, prison cultures and the experiences of long-term inmates in the late 19th and twentieth century. More broadly, this engaging account shows the struggles authorities had with 'contamination' inside prisons in the past, but also resonates with concerns in contemporary prison systems."" - Professor Helen L. Johnston, University of Hull, UK"