Description

Book Synopsis
A study of the internal tensions of British imperial rule told through murder and insanity trials

Trade Review
Shortlisted for the Stansky Book Prize, sponsored by the North American Conference on British Studies (NACBS)

Shortlisted for the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize, sponsored by the Canadian Historical Association (CHA)

“Unsound Empire reconnoitres with late-Victorian jurists and medical men struggling with prisoners too dangerous to release and too mad to hang. Catherine Evans’s micro-histories are strewn with eccentric characters and thick with tales that sparkle with stunning prose.”—Constance Backhouse, University of Ottawa

“This original, bold and beautifully crafted book brings legal history, the history of medicine and imperial history into dialogue. A must-read for anyone interested in a critical history of the British Empire.”—Renaud Morieux, author of The Society of Prisoners: Anglo-French Wars and Incarceration in the Eighteenth Century

Unsound Empire

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    A Hardback by Catherine L. Evans

    £52.25

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    RRP £55.00 – you save £2.75 (5%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Sat 29 Aug 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Yale University Press
      Published 23 November 2021
      ISBN-13 9780300242744
      978-0300242744
      ISBN-10 0300242743
      Also in:
      European history: medieval period, middle ages Law Legal history Mental health law

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      A study of the internal tensions of British imperial rule told through murder and insanity trials

      Trade Review
      Shortlisted for the Stansky Book Prize, sponsored by the North American Conference on British Studies (NACBS)

      Shortlisted for the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize, sponsored by the Canadian Historical Association (CHA)

      “Unsound Empire reconnoitres with late-Victorian jurists and medical men struggling with prisoners too dangerous to release and too mad to hang. Catherine Evans’s micro-histories are strewn with eccentric characters and thick with tales that sparkle with stunning prose.”—Constance Backhouse, University of Ottawa

      “This original, bold and beautifully crafted book brings legal history, the history of medicine and imperial history into dialogue. A must-read for anyone interested in a critical history of the British Empire.”—Renaud Morieux, author of The Society of Prisoners: Anglo-French Wars and Incarceration in the Eighteenth Century

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