Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines the phenomenon of infanticide in Ireland from 1850 to 1900. It is based on a large sample of 4,645 individual cases of infant murder, attempted infanticide and concealment of birth. Through a variety of sources, attitudes towards the crime of infanticide and women accused of the offence are revealed.
Trade ReviewElaine Farrell’s richly detailed and compelling analysis of these cases provides readers with a vivid insight into Irish society and culture in this period, paying particular attention to the nuances of gender and class as factors in shaping individual lives.
Farrell has produced a meticulous and well-written study that deserves a wide audience, and will undoubtedly be of immense benefit to all those interested in the histories of gender, crime and childhood. Accessible, nuanced and engaging, ‘A most diabolical deed’ will prove an essential addition to reading lists for both undergraduate and postgraduate modules dealing with gender and criminal justice, as well as to broader surveys of nineteenth century Britain and Ireland.
, Daniel J.R. Grey, Plymouth University, SOLON: 2013 (3), 2013|Elaine Farrell’s book is a very important addition to the growing literature on Irish women’s history in the modern period., Brian Griffin, Bath Spa University, Irish Studies Review 22.4 November 2014, 1 November 2014
‘A meticulously researched and well written work on a grisly subject.’
Oliver Rafferty, Boston College, Journal of Ecclesiastical History
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Table of ContentsIntroduction
1. ‘A melancholy thing’: an overview
2. ‘Dead children, like drowned sailors, tell no tales’: coroners’ courts
3. ‘That species of crime’: criminal courts
4. ‘Rumor, with its hundred tongues’: the community
5. ‘News of the ghastly spectacle’: the press
6. ‘A very great escape’: prisons
Conclusion
Index
