1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910747591303321

Autore

Watson Katherine (Katherine Denise)

Titolo

Acid Attacks in Britain, 1760–1975 / / by Katherine D. Watson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Palgrave Pivot, , 2023

ISBN

9783031272721

3031272722

9783031272714

Edizione

[1st ed. 2023.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (143 pages) : illustrations

Collana

World Histories of Crime, Culture and Violence, , 2730-9649

Disciplina

364.1555

Soggetti

Law - History

Great Britain - History

Social history

Europe - History - 1492-

Crime - Sociological aspects

Legal History

History of Britain and Ireland

Social History

History of Modern Europe

Crime and Society

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographcial references and index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Introduction -- 2. Facts and Figures -- 3. Motives and Contexts -- 4. Law and Justice -- 5. Conclusion.

Sommario/riassunto

This Palgrave Pivot examines the history of the largely urban offence once known as vitriol throwing because the substance most commonly used was strong sulphuric acid, oil of vitriol. A relatively rare form of assault, it was motivated largely by revenge or jealousy and, because it was specifically designed to blind and mutilate, commonly targeted the victim’s face. The incidence of what was thus widely acknowledged to be an exceptionally cruel crime plateaued in the period 1850–1930 amid a sometimes surprisingly lenient legal response, before declining as a result of post-war social changes. In examining the factors that



influenced both the crime and its punishment, the book makes an important contribution to criminal justice history by illuminating the role of gender, law and emotion from the perspective of both victim and perpetrator. Katherine D. Watson is Reader in History at Oxford Brookes University, UK. Her research interests focus ontopics where medicine, crime and the law intersect, particularly in Britain since the seventeenth century. She is the author of Medicine and Justice: Medico-Legal Practice in England and Wales, 1700–1914 (2020). .