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True Crime General

Twisting in the Wind

The Murderess and the English Press

by (author) Judith Knelman

Publisher
University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Initial publish date
Mar 1998
Category
General, 19th Century, Women's Studies, Media Studies, Great Britain, Social History
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780802074201
    Publish Date
    Mar 1998
    List Price
    $31.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802029157
    Publish Date
    Mar 1998
    List Price
    $64.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442682818
    Publish Date
    Mar 1998
    List Price
    $84.00

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Description

Women accused of murder in nineteenth-century England got bad press. Broadsides, newspapers, and books depicted their stories in gruesome detail, often with illustrations of the crime scene, the courtroom proceedings, and the execution. This sensational coverage fed the public appetite for stories of female deviancy and punishment.

Judith Knelman contends that the portrayal of murder by women was linked to a broader public agenda, set and controlled by men. Women were expected to be devoted to giving and sustaining life. Aggression was "masculine." Thus a woman who killed posed a threat to patriarchal authority.

Knelman describes the range and incidence of murder by women in England. She analyses case histories of different kinds of murder, and explores how press representations of the murderess contributed to the Victorian construction of femininity. She also suggests that class and gender discrimination pushed women to kill.

Twisting in the Wind is a comprehensive and balanced account that will appeal to true crime fans, sociologists, criminologists, historians, and researchers in women's studies.

About the author

Judith Knelman is an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Western Ontario.

Judith Knelman's profile page