Congratulations to John Beattie on the publication of his new book The
First English Detectives: The Bow Street Runners and the Policing of
London, 1750-1840/. Published by Oxford University Press, the book
represents the first comprehensive study of the Bow Street Runners from
their establishment by Henry Fielding in the middle of the eighteenth
century and subsequent development over the following
decades into a stable group of officers who were, as John argues,
detectives in all but name. A second theme in the book concerns
attitudes and ideas about the policing of London more broadly,
particularly from the 1780s when the detective and prosecutorial work of
the runners came to be
challenged.
The present book
represents John's major work over the past decade and follows on from
his earlier book /Policing and Prosecution in London, 1660-1750: Urban
Crime and the
Limits of Terror /which was also published by Oxford University Press.
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