1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910953646203321

Autore

Farrell Elaine

Titolo

A most diabolical deed' : Infanticide and Irish society, 1850–1900

Pubbl/distr/stampa

[Place of publication not identified] : , : Manchester Univ Press, , 2016

Baltimore, Md. : , : Project MUSE, , 2017

©2016

ISBN

9781526102249

1526102242

9781526102232

1526102234

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (305 pages) : illustrations

Disciplina

364.1523

Soggetti

Infanticide - Law and legislation - Ireland - History - 19th century

Infanticide - Ireland

Infanticide - Ireland - History - 19th century

SOCIAL SCIENCE / Children's Studies

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

'A most diabolical deed': Infanticide and Irish society, 1850-1900 -- Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Figures -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1. 'A melancholy thing':¹ an overview -- 2. 'Dead children, like drowned sailors, tell no tales': coroners' courts -- 3. 'That species of crime':¹ criminal courts -- 4. 'Rumor, with its hundred tongues': the community -- 5. 'News of the ghastly spectacle':¹ the press -- 6. 'A very great escape':¹ prisons -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.

Sommario/riassunto

This book examines the phenomenon of infanticide in Ireland from 1850 to 1900, examining a sample of 4,645 individual cases of infant murder, attempted infanticide and concealment of birth. Evidence for this study has been gleaned from a variety of sources, including court documents, coroners'records, prison files, parliamentary papers, and newspapers. Through these sources, many of which are rarely used by scholars, attitudes towards the crime, the women accused of the



offence, and the victim, are revealed. Although infant murder was a capital offence during this period, none of thewomen found guilty of the crime were executed, suggesting a degree of sympathy and understanding towards the accused. Infanticide cases also allude to complex dynamics and tensions between employers and servants, parents and pregnant daughters, judges and defendants, and prison authorities andinmates. This book highlights much about the lived realities of nineteenth-century Ireland.