1
Nineteenth-Century Crime Fiction
‘The disciplinary function of early crime narratives is subverted by their status as
commodities.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement?
In early crime narratives a tension exists between the intended disciplinary function and the
entertainment value demanded by their status as commodities. The Ordinary Accounts and the
criminal broadsides, for example, acted as an indirect form of state-controlled surveillance.
This ideological policing, however, is balanced against the commercial obligation to appeal to
a wide readership. Indeed, the sensational nature of early crime narratives arguably
undermines their disciplinary purpose of deterring crime.
In ‘The Ordinary’s Account of Mary Young’1, the warning that crimes are punished is
intended to operate as a deterrent for committing crime. In the absence of a state-funded
system of policing, the Ordinaries were paid to compose narratives with a monitoring
function. In the Account of Mary Young, the Ordinary begins on an overt warning note.
Although the female criminal was well educated and instructed in the ‘Principles of Religion’
(Account, p.122), circumstances led her into criminality, where she gained the reputation as
one of the ‘artfullest Pick-pockets in the World’ (Account, p.122). Mary Young is sentenced
to death for her crimes, but ‘repented of all her Sins’ (Account, p.123), and hoped that her
‘untimely Exit may be a Warning’ (Account, p.123) to others. Nevertheless, this warning note
is subverted by the subsequent sensational account of the ‘Adventures’ (Account, p.129) of
the criminal gang. The Accounts were cheaply produced in pamphlet form, were sold
primarily to make a profit, and appealed to a wide readership. In order to maximise sales,
therefore, they had to be entertaining. In the Account of Mary Young, crime is glamorised and
the female criminal becomes the heroine of her tale. For instance, she frequently adopts the
guise of a ‘big-belly’d woman’ (Account, p.128), and on one occasion assumes this disguise
to enter a respectable house and steal property, which she stores ‘on the Inside of her large
Hoop’ (Account, p.128). After the sensational exploits of the gang, the final words of the
, 2
narrator, which attempt to reassert the ideological message of the narrative, are significantly
subverted. It is therefore arguable that the disciplinary function of the Account is overturned,
with the narrative encouraging, rather than preventing, crime.
Similarly to the Accounts, the criminal broadsides were designed to have a
disciplinary effect upon the reader. The broadsides communicated a set of socially determined
behaviours and notions. This ideological policing functions overtly in ‘The Trial, Confession,
and Execution of Joseph Richards.’2 The broadside includes the common image of the
execution platform pictured between the Church of St. Sepulchre and the Newgate Prison.
Executions were overt reminders that crime could be controlled and contained, and as Heather
Worthington acknowledges, the ‘execution broadsides functioned as the signifiers of
sovereign power.’3 To augment this image, the trial and execution of Richards is textualized
so that the reader can internalise the ideological message. A social surveillance clearly
operates in the narrative, as Richards’ crime involves an implicit attack upon the social order.
As a servant, Richards ‘owed duty and reverence’ (JR) to his master. After being discharged
for ‘negligence’ (JR), however, he frequently ‘threatened vengeance’ (JR) on Walter
Horseman, and subsequently murdered him. An awareness of the ‘Divine Law’ (JR) operates
in the narrative, a law which decrees that those who ‘sheddeth man’s blood’ (JR), and
transgress social boundaries, are punished. Consequently, Richards is tried and sentenced to
execution, enforcing the message that criminal acts inevitably lead to punishment. In his final
moments, the criminal attempts to make restitution for his crime, he repents his sins, and
makes ‘fervent appeals to Heaven for mercy’ (JR). As Stephen Knight identifies, the Newgate
Calendars are ‘heavily laced with Christian sentiments’4 and show how the criminal ‘came to
confession and a devout end on the scaffold.’5 In the criminal broadsides, Christian
repentance similarly operates as a deterrent for committing crime, and in this early crime
narrative the disciplinary purpose is not subverted by its commercial status.
Nineteenth-Century Crime Fiction
‘The disciplinary function of early crime narratives is subverted by their status as
commodities.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement?
In early crime narratives a tension exists between the intended disciplinary function and the
entertainment value demanded by their status as commodities. The Ordinary Accounts and the
criminal broadsides, for example, acted as an indirect form of state-controlled surveillance.
This ideological policing, however, is balanced against the commercial obligation to appeal to
a wide readership. Indeed, the sensational nature of early crime narratives arguably
undermines their disciplinary purpose of deterring crime.
In ‘The Ordinary’s Account of Mary Young’1, the warning that crimes are punished is
intended to operate as a deterrent for committing crime. In the absence of a state-funded
system of policing, the Ordinaries were paid to compose narratives with a monitoring
function. In the Account of Mary Young, the Ordinary begins on an overt warning note.
Although the female criminal was well educated and instructed in the ‘Principles of Religion’
(Account, p.122), circumstances led her into criminality, where she gained the reputation as
one of the ‘artfullest Pick-pockets in the World’ (Account, p.122). Mary Young is sentenced
to death for her crimes, but ‘repented of all her Sins’ (Account, p.123), and hoped that her
‘untimely Exit may be a Warning’ (Account, p.123) to others. Nevertheless, this warning note
is subverted by the subsequent sensational account of the ‘Adventures’ (Account, p.129) of
the criminal gang. The Accounts were cheaply produced in pamphlet form, were sold
primarily to make a profit, and appealed to a wide readership. In order to maximise sales,
therefore, they had to be entertaining. In the Account of Mary Young, crime is glamorised and
the female criminal becomes the heroine of her tale. For instance, she frequently adopts the
guise of a ‘big-belly’d woman’ (Account, p.128), and on one occasion assumes this disguise
to enter a respectable house and steal property, which she stores ‘on the Inside of her large
Hoop’ (Account, p.128). After the sensational exploits of the gang, the final words of the
, 2
narrator, which attempt to reassert the ideological message of the narrative, are significantly
subverted. It is therefore arguable that the disciplinary function of the Account is overturned,
with the narrative encouraging, rather than preventing, crime.
Similarly to the Accounts, the criminal broadsides were designed to have a
disciplinary effect upon the reader. The broadsides communicated a set of socially determined
behaviours and notions. This ideological policing functions overtly in ‘The Trial, Confession,
and Execution of Joseph Richards.’2 The broadside includes the common image of the
execution platform pictured between the Church of St. Sepulchre and the Newgate Prison.
Executions were overt reminders that crime could be controlled and contained, and as Heather
Worthington acknowledges, the ‘execution broadsides functioned as the signifiers of
sovereign power.’3 To augment this image, the trial and execution of Richards is textualized
so that the reader can internalise the ideological message. A social surveillance clearly
operates in the narrative, as Richards’ crime involves an implicit attack upon the social order.
As a servant, Richards ‘owed duty and reverence’ (JR) to his master. After being discharged
for ‘negligence’ (JR), however, he frequently ‘threatened vengeance’ (JR) on Walter
Horseman, and subsequently murdered him. An awareness of the ‘Divine Law’ (JR) operates
in the narrative, a law which decrees that those who ‘sheddeth man’s blood’ (JR), and
transgress social boundaries, are punished. Consequently, Richards is tried and sentenced to
execution, enforcing the message that criminal acts inevitably lead to punishment. In his final
moments, the criminal attempts to make restitution for his crime, he repents his sins, and
makes ‘fervent appeals to Heaven for mercy’ (JR). As Stephen Knight identifies, the Newgate
Calendars are ‘heavily laced with Christian sentiments’4 and show how the criminal ‘came to
confession and a devout end on the scaffold.’5 In the criminal broadsides, Christian
repentance similarly operates as a deterrent for committing crime, and in this early crime
narrative the disciplinary purpose is not subverted by its commercial status.
