Description

Book Synopsis
How vagrancy, as legal and imaginative category, shaped the role of policing in colonialism, racial formation, and resource distribution

Trade Review
“A superb book. Its historical depth and geographical breadth accomplishes far more than most literary scholars, writing on this topic, have done in recent years.”—Betty Joseph, Rice University

“A cultural criticism built on the close reading of texts, a model of careful and conscientious reading, and a vital contribution to our understanding of literature’s ideological work.”—Eugenia Zuroski, McMaster University

“Nicolazzo finds the roots of modern policing in the earliest days of the American colonies and traces compelling connections between the local minutiae of vagrancy law and the vast, brutal sweep of British imperial expansion.”—Charlotte Sussman, Duke University

“Reading lyric poetry, fiction, and memoir together with statutory law and the bureaucratic ephemera of various legal functionaries, Sal Nicolazzo dramatically expands our understanding of policing and of the practices and narratives that accompanied it in the early modern period.”—Simon Stern, University of Toronto

Vagrant Figures Law Literature and the Origins of

    Product form

    A Hardback by Sal Nicolazzo

    £52.25

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £55.00 – you save £2.75 (5%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Sat 17 Oct 2026.

    1 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Vagrant Figures Law Literature and the Origins of by Sal Nicolazzo

      Book details

      Publisher Yale University Press
      Published 23 February 2021
      ISBN-13 9780300241310
      978-0300241310
      ISBN-10 0300241313
      Also in:
      Literary studies: c 1600 to c 1800 Legal history Police and security services

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      How vagrancy, as legal and imaginative category, shaped the role of policing in colonialism, racial formation, and resource distribution

      Trade Review
      “A superb book. Its historical depth and geographical breadth accomplishes far more than most literary scholars, writing on this topic, have done in recent years.”—Betty Joseph, Rice University

      “A cultural criticism built on the close reading of texts, a model of careful and conscientious reading, and a vital contribution to our understanding of literature’s ideological work.”—Eugenia Zuroski, McMaster University

      “Nicolazzo finds the roots of modern policing in the earliest days of the American colonies and traces compelling connections between the local minutiae of vagrancy law and the vast, brutal sweep of British imperial expansion.”—Charlotte Sussman, Duke University

      “Reading lyric poetry, fiction, and memoir together with statutory law and the bureaucratic ephemera of various legal functionaries, Sal Nicolazzo dramatically expands our understanding of policing and of the practices and narratives that accompanied it in the early modern period.”—Simon Stern, University of Toronto

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account