The Longman Handbook of Modern British History 1714-2001 Book

Murder in Shakespeare's England is well-researched study of crime in seventeenth century England and how it was both perceived and punished. Although the title and cover art suggest otherwise, the book is not a collection of gruesome murder stories and bloody punishments. Professor Vanessa McMahon focuses instead on the role that the English public played in the justice system, from apprehension of a criminal to evidence collection to trial testimony to final judgement.

McMahon's research unearthed some illuminating information about the courts system of that period. I always assumed that the seventeenth century English law was harsh and vindictive, with trials being a mere prelude to a slow death at the stake or gibbet. Unfair cultural expectations did creep into statute: if a woman killed her abusive husband, she was automatically guilty of petty treason and subject to execution. (Men, on the other hand, had the option of pleading self-defence when they killed, as violence was considered to be part of the male psyche and justifiable in certain circumstances.) But Professor McMahon demonstrates that juries weren't typically ruthless and unfair in their verdicts: it wasn't unusual for them to acquit rather than subject a sympathetic defendant to a horrible death. They did react harshly to criminals that fitted popular stereotypes, such as the evil Papist foreigner or wicked female poisoner, but on the whole they showed more common sense and leniency than I had presumed.

Readers seeking an anthology of old English murder stories might be put off by the cultural and sociological analyses that dominate the book. What has to be understood is that this is not a true crime work per se. Professor McMahon's aim in writing Murder in Shakespeare's England was not titillation, but enlightenment. Viewed from that perspective, she has succeeded admirably.