Heather Shore, London’s Criminal Underworlds, c. 1720 – c. 1930. A Social and Cultural History, Houndmills Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, 286 p., ISBN 978-0-230-3404-8

Abstract

The ‘underworld’, ‘criminal class’, ‘organised crime’ are popular terms in the media. They suggest an alien ‘other’, that claims many of the attributes of ordinary society and ordinary members of society, but that has its own, alternative structures and norms following an alternative life style and the expense of everyone else. Some criminologists and historians of crime have provided definitions of such terms. The problem with providing a definition in such an instance is that, if the author...