Suicide was a crime throughout the eighteenth century, but was not always punished as such, and s... more Suicide was a crime throughout the eighteenth century, but was not always punished as such, and some self-murders were treated with lenience and sensitivity. This article discusses suicidal criminals in eighteenth-century England who challenged state power and the legal process by taking their lives before their arrest or punishment. It also introduces several understudied cases of judicial suicides: people who deliberately committed crimes in order to receive the death sentence. These cases provide new insights into the process of prosecution, punishment, and pardon in the eighteenth century. This article argues that the treatment of suicidal criminals in the eighteenth century was shaped by changing moral, spiritual, and emotional standards, but also by popular literature and press reporting.
Sympathy for forgers was not uncommon in the eighteenth century. This article reveals the emotion... more Sympathy for forgers was not uncommon in the eighteenth century. This article reveals the emotional under side of the culture of credit, demonstrating the importance of emotions to understanding multivalent forms of capital such as ‘honour’ and ‘credit’.It explores the relationship between the courtroom and public opinion, and suggests that trials for forgery evoked a set of emotional responses that was specific to a particular emotional community. Using a history of emotions approach, the article explains how and why emotion was evoked, performed and interpreted within the courtroom space,and how this influenced eighteenth-century attitudes to forgery
Emotions: History, Culture, Society vol.1, no.2 (2017), 81-107
This article considers the perfor... more Emotions: History, Culture, Society vol.1, no.2 (2017), 81-107
This article considers the performance of gentility by criminals and impostors during the eighteenth century, arguing that a genteel appearance and behaviour not only facilitated crime, but allowed the accused criminal to access sympathy in the courtroom arena. Gentility comprised a set of polite mannerisms, gestures and appearances, but also required the performance of particular emotions. The performance of ‘genteel’ emotions could bring together a socially disparate group united by a shared valuation of sympathies, feelings and values. Those who claimed gentility in the eighteenth century expressed a concern for personal and public honour, a fear of shame and the desire to be viewed as someone possessing particularly refined emotional capacities such as sensibility and sympathy. Moreover, a successful claim to gentility could secure preferential treatment even for an impostor of a doubtful background and dubious character.
This article considers the role of emotion in the eighteenth-century courtroom. It discusses the ... more This article considers the role of emotion in the eighteenth-century courtroom. It discusses the work of judges and magistrates in constituting and upholding a ‘grand narrative’, which legitimized English criminal law. This grand narrative was inherently emotional, activating patriotism and love of justice, but also fear of punishment through the performance of ‘emotional labour’ from the judgment seat. However, while performing the majesty of the law, judges attempted to balance a number of complicating factors, such as the rise of sensibility, the role of the press, and their own emotions about criminal justice. The growing presence of professional counsel from the end of the century also complicated the emotional tenor of criminal trials. Moreover, the majesty of the law was undermined and even corrupted by the representation of trials and executions in the popular press. Far from viewing displays of emotion as inappropriate, it appears that many contemporaries held emotion to be an integral part of trial process, and of the majesty of the law.
This paper considers the petticoat, a garment which could be perceived as under- or outer-wear de... more This paper considers the petticoat, a garment which could be perceived as under- or outer-wear depending on styles of dress. Petticoats appeared frequently in the eighteenth-century criminal courtroom on an inventory of stolen items, or as evidence of violent crime, although it is not always clear whether they were produced in court. I argue that the use of petticoats or other intimate garments as evidence in criminal trials created a fraught situation for female litigants, witnesses and observers. Representations of petticoats in Old Bailey proceedings and in print and visual culture reveal the difficulties facing female defendants or victims of crime in the eighteenth century. Displaying such intimate apparel in public in many ways reflected the experience of women in the masculinised sphere of the courtroom. This created opportunities for satire and salacious humour, as well as unsolicited commentary on the female body. By examining trial reports and fictional accounts of petticoats in the courtroom, this paper unpicks the relationship between wearer, garment, and society, and reveal the complex emotions provoked by the display and discussion of intimate apparel in the courtroom space. I consider representations of the petticoat in periodical culture, moving on to address how the intimate relationship between clothing and identity impacted on victims of crime. I explain how the value of clothing not only motivated crime in the eighteenth century, but dictated the way that it was prosecuted. Petticoats used as evidence by the victims of crime, as well as the defendants whose clothing incriminated them, show how the treatment of such intimate clothing drew upon contemporary assumptions about modesty, the female body, and sexuality. I suggest that as an item of clothing worn by all women during this period, the petticoat connects the experiences of women across classes. The article brings together recent work on courtroom performance, female criminality, and material culture. Throughout, I argue that women seeking justice in the eighteenth century (plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses) risked feeling literally, or figuratively, exposed.
The eighteenth century saw dramatic changes in the way that criminal law was managed, enacted, an... more The eighteenth century saw dramatic changes in the way that criminal law was managed, enacted, and represented. The introduction of lawyers into criminal trials from the 1730s significantly altered the dynamics of trial practice, directing focus away from the ‘accused speaks’ process, and becoming instead a battle of wits, eloquence and performance between barristers. The role of emotions in this transformation has received little attention, in part due to the assumption that criminal justice prioritises ‘truth’ and ‘facts’ in order to reach a verdict. However, emotions played a crucial role in determining guilt or innocence, and in the way that criminal justice was perceived by society at large. From the stories told by litigants about personal grievances and crimes of sudden passion, to the more structured narratives of legal professionals who sought to represent virtue assailed, innocence corrupted, and families divided, storytelling to provoke emotion was at the heart of the criminal trial. This paper will argue that emotions were integral to the eighteenth-century criminal trial, and were essential in evaluating and responding to the competing narratives at play within the courtroom. Even the judge and jury existed within a ‘grand narrative’ of English justice, and were expected to show a range of emotions, such as sorrow, pity, mercy, anger, and disgust. The emotional responses of those present in the courtroom – weeping judges, fainting witnesses, or disruptive audiences – were shaped by their understanding of the narratives at play. How did people involved in criminal proceedings navigate this emotional landscape, and what kinds of emotional manipulation were they likely to encounter in the courtroom? How was emotion evoked and represented in eighteenth-century literary and print culture, and how did literary and imaginative texts influence courtroom behaviour? This paper will use case studies from trial reports, criminal lives, and broader print culture to explore the emotional styles of the eighteenth-century courtroom.
This paper considers the way that the Fete de la Federation sought to create or enforce emotional... more This paper considers the way that the Fete de la Federation sought to create or enforce emotional unity, but at the same time provoked many emotional responses which reflected the anxieties of the French people in 1790. Furthermore, it layers on top of these interpretations some examples of how the emotional resonance of Federation was represented and altered on the British stage. The staging of patriotism was re-appropriated to foreground British liberties, but also a healthy approbation of events across the Channel. I will finish by suggesting that many Britons sought to use the Federation to create emotional community with their French counterparts.
During the 1790s, many English observers wrote home about their experiences of revolutionary Pari... more During the 1790s, many English observers wrote home about their experiences of revolutionary Paris. While some, like Arthur Young and Dr Rigby, experienced the French Revolution as part of an extended programme of travel, others flocked to Paris specifically to observe and participate in the events that were unfolding. Alongside personal interest in French politics, commentators like Helen Maria Williams expressed the objective of transmitting a “truthful” account of Parisian events to a misinformed readership at home. The Bastille, the Hôtel de Ville, and the Assemblée Nationale became stops on a tour of revolutionary Paris, spectacles to be patriotically consumed and duly recorded.
While recent scholarship has focused on female travel writers and their experiences in revolutionary France, less attention has been paid to the way “revolution tourists” were perceived in France. Foreign friends to the revolution were welcomed in 1789-90, but by 1793, and the passage of the Law of Suspects, to be English and in Paris was to be persona non grata. This paper will consider French representations of tourists (particularly women) in Paris in the 1790s. Focusing on a counter-revolutionary pamphlet by monarchist writer Pierre Victor Malouet, entitled The Journey and Conspiracy of Two Strangers, it considers the ways that the trappings and discourse of the English tourist quickly became unpalatable to the French consciousness, even before the outbreak of war in February 1793. While traditional Grand Tourists avoided Paris, formerly a hub of upper class polite sociability, I ask what kind of person was curious enough to venture where, as Williams’ friends unreliably informed her, “every town is the scene of a massacre; […] every street is blackened with a gallows, and every highway deluged with blood”?
"Throughout the eighteenth century, dialogue form had been employed in political tracts and pamph... more "Throughout the eighteenth century, dialogue form had been employed in political tracts and pamphlets to play two conflicting arguments against each other; it was clearly thought that to see an argument defeated in a pseudo-conversation was an effective way to discredit it. In Britain and France alike, this format mediated conversations between the rich and the poor, husband and wife, or professed to educate, but it was also a powerful tool in dealing with debates on issues such as slavery, religion, and the law.
With the outbreak of revolution in France, the dialogue in pamphlet form became a way for loyalist associations in England to push forward their perspectives on the English constitution, on reformists and other trouble makers, and to teach loyalty to King and country, for example through the Reeves Association publications. In France, moreover, it became a vehicle for the discussion of taxation and government, with fictional members of the National Assembly addressing those of the Farmer’s General, for example. The conversation form soon began to take the shape of political debates between participants of different nationalities, who pitched themselves on opposite sides of the Channel to argue points based partly on sound political argument, and partly on a presumed set of national characteristics.
This paper examines several of these imagined conversations, in an attempt to mediate the discussion of political principles across both countries. It identifies strains of national stereotyping, but also the kind of mutually beneficial comparison which was taking place in these dialogues, which forced commentators to turn a harsh eye not only on their opponents, but on their own arguments, too. Furthermore, it will investigate some of the ways in which these conversations became more interactive than was originally intended, opening up discussions of political subjects to a broader audience and in many cases eliciting further responses.
"
This paper became an article for a special edition of 'Skepsi', published as a result of the conf... more This paper became an article for a special edition of 'Skepsi', published as a result of the conference. The issue can be found here: http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/skepsi/issues/v05i02/
This paper considers the work of Jacob Heinrich Meister, a Swiss protestant exile, director of a... more This paper considers the work of Jacob Heinrich Meister, a Swiss protestant exile, director of a high-end literary periodical in Paris, and author of numerous political treatises between 1770 and 1820. His position brought him into contact with figures such as Denis Diderot and Jacques Necker, and into a lifelong correspondence with Madame de Staël, associations which make him a referent in many discussions of late eighteenth century French culture, but never a primary focus. Meister’s literary output was considerable, tackling a variety of philosophical and moral subjects. This paper considers his work during the 1790s, in response to the French Revolution.
Meister’s work is particularly important to my current research project, which considers representations of radicalism, particularly Jacobinism, in England and France during the 1790s. As a stranger in both countries, he offers a unique insight into the progress and effects of the French Revolution, producing travel accounts, reflections and pamphlets. Central to this paper is the 1791 pamphlet, Conversations Patriotiques d’un Jacobin et d’un Anglais, a satirised conversation on the revolution between stereotyped characters of each nation. A copy of this pamphlet held in the Leeds Brotherton Library reopens the debate, being literally covered with the annotations of a furious Jacobin hand. Meister initiates a conversation which this new disputant decisively finishes, exemplifying the revolutionary fervour and spirit of impassioned debate which characterised early French Jacobinism.
My paper attempts contextualise this pamphlet and its annotator, as a unique example of the radical debate in the early 1790s, and as a fascinating subversion of the standard dialogue pamphlet format. It also offers an evaluation of the Leeds pamphlet in the context of a larger body of French Revolutionary pamphlets.
The dog has always played an important role in British cultural history. Man’s best friend has b... more The dog has always played an important role in British cultural history. Man’s best friend has been used as a symbol of fidelity, security, and as part of the rural idyll which defined early modern Britain. During the eighteenth century, however, the increasingly social relationship between men and dogs became a channel through which to express concerns over individual rights and liberty, wealth and poverty, and a way to satirise relationships between men. The origins of the Dog Tax lie in seventeenth century game law reform, which prevented those without land from owning greyhounds or other hunting dogs, reinforcing traditional class boundaries and asserting the rights of the landed aristocracy. The tax which was eventually passed in 1796, however, was a product of a more complicated debate, providing a focal point for national anxiety, and an easy target for satirists. By unravelling the rich web of symbols, customs and traditions which were referenced in relation to this issue, it is possible to view the debate over the Dog Tax as a culmination of years of anxiety, expressed through story, song, and pictures, and to map the cultural progression of a kind of animal imagery which mirrored contemporary debates on humanity and the role of animals, but also passed comment on the British political situation.
This paper interrogates a rich body of print satires, alongside the more serious debates over the proposed Dog Tax, to provide a unique snapshot into the workings of print culture in the Georgian period, showcasing how an emblem of national character could also become an outlet for social and political discontent.
The French Revolution is recognised as a period in which gossip and rumour flourished, and public... more The French Revolution is recognised as a period in which gossip and rumour flourished, and public opinion gave credit to and circulated various conspiracy theories. Some of these, such as the suggestion that the course of the revolution was largely effected by the interference and financial incentives of William Pitt and acted out by his agents, still attract scholarly attention and curiosity today. However, a large corpus of lesser known “grande conspirations” published during the 1790s have been all but forgotten: some because they were too fantastical, others clearly fabricated from scanty evidence, but perhaps the greater part because, despite their tantalising titles, they were not conspiracy theories at all. The hijack of the “Grande Conspiration” narrative was one way to attract attention to pamphlets which stated fairly well-known facts and re-hashed rumours. These pamphlets particularly focussed on the monarchy, an assumed “aristocratic party”, and the Jacobin Club as hotbeds of treason and complot. This paper considers the Jacobin Club as the hub of this fashion for denunciation, partly because of the continuing accusations issued by the club itself, but also due to the radical actions of its members, which could lend even the more far-fetched conspiracy theories a certain legitimacy. By looking at several “Grande Conspiration” pamphlets published during the early stages of the revolution, and also by considering the use of the same narrative in theatrical pieces of the time, I attempt to uncover the politics and agency of the conspiracy for a contemporary audience. Perhaps it is not the conspiracy itself which is a cause concern, but rather the wider issues and anxieties which it embodies. The complot calls into question the revolutionary values of liberty, equality, fraternity, and the oath of loyalty to the nation, the king and the law, but more fundamentally it taps in to a continuing concern over, and quest for the truth.
ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions Blog: Histories of Emotions: From Medieval E... more ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions Blog: Histories of Emotions: From Medieval Europe to Contemporary Australia
Suicide was a crime throughout the eighteenth century, but was not always punished as such, and s... more Suicide was a crime throughout the eighteenth century, but was not always punished as such, and some self-murders were treated with lenience and sensitivity. This article discusses suicidal criminals in eighteenth-century England who challenged state power and the legal process by taking their lives before their arrest or punishment. It also introduces several understudied cases of judicial suicides: people who deliberately committed crimes in order to receive the death sentence. These cases provide new insights into the process of prosecution, punishment, and pardon in the eighteenth century. This article argues that the treatment of suicidal criminals in the eighteenth century was shaped by changing moral, spiritual, and emotional standards, but also by popular literature and press reporting.
Sympathy for forgers was not uncommon in the eighteenth century. This article reveals the emotion... more Sympathy for forgers was not uncommon in the eighteenth century. This article reveals the emotional under side of the culture of credit, demonstrating the importance of emotions to understanding multivalent forms of capital such as ‘honour’ and ‘credit’.It explores the relationship between the courtroom and public opinion, and suggests that trials for forgery evoked a set of emotional responses that was specific to a particular emotional community. Using a history of emotions approach, the article explains how and why emotion was evoked, performed and interpreted within the courtroom space,and how this influenced eighteenth-century attitudes to forgery
Emotions: History, Culture, Society vol.1, no.2 (2017), 81-107
This article considers the perfor... more Emotions: History, Culture, Society vol.1, no.2 (2017), 81-107
This article considers the performance of gentility by criminals and impostors during the eighteenth century, arguing that a genteel appearance and behaviour not only facilitated crime, but allowed the accused criminal to access sympathy in the courtroom arena. Gentility comprised a set of polite mannerisms, gestures and appearances, but also required the performance of particular emotions. The performance of ‘genteel’ emotions could bring together a socially disparate group united by a shared valuation of sympathies, feelings and values. Those who claimed gentility in the eighteenth century expressed a concern for personal and public honour, a fear of shame and the desire to be viewed as someone possessing particularly refined emotional capacities such as sensibility and sympathy. Moreover, a successful claim to gentility could secure preferential treatment even for an impostor of a doubtful background and dubious character.
This article considers the role of emotion in the eighteenth-century courtroom. It discusses the ... more This article considers the role of emotion in the eighteenth-century courtroom. It discusses the work of judges and magistrates in constituting and upholding a ‘grand narrative’, which legitimized English criminal law. This grand narrative was inherently emotional, activating patriotism and love of justice, but also fear of punishment through the performance of ‘emotional labour’ from the judgment seat. However, while performing the majesty of the law, judges attempted to balance a number of complicating factors, such as the rise of sensibility, the role of the press, and their own emotions about criminal justice. The growing presence of professional counsel from the end of the century also complicated the emotional tenor of criminal trials. Moreover, the majesty of the law was undermined and even corrupted by the representation of trials and executions in the popular press. Far from viewing displays of emotion as inappropriate, it appears that many contemporaries held emotion to be an integral part of trial process, and of the majesty of the law.
This paper considers the petticoat, a garment which could be perceived as under- or outer-wear de... more This paper considers the petticoat, a garment which could be perceived as under- or outer-wear depending on styles of dress. Petticoats appeared frequently in the eighteenth-century criminal courtroom on an inventory of stolen items, or as evidence of violent crime, although it is not always clear whether they were produced in court. I argue that the use of petticoats or other intimate garments as evidence in criminal trials created a fraught situation for female litigants, witnesses and observers. Representations of petticoats in Old Bailey proceedings and in print and visual culture reveal the difficulties facing female defendants or victims of crime in the eighteenth century. Displaying such intimate apparel in public in many ways reflected the experience of women in the masculinised sphere of the courtroom. This created opportunities for satire and salacious humour, as well as unsolicited commentary on the female body. By examining trial reports and fictional accounts of petticoats in the courtroom, this paper unpicks the relationship between wearer, garment, and society, and reveal the complex emotions provoked by the display and discussion of intimate apparel in the courtroom space. I consider representations of the petticoat in periodical culture, moving on to address how the intimate relationship between clothing and identity impacted on victims of crime. I explain how the value of clothing not only motivated crime in the eighteenth century, but dictated the way that it was prosecuted. Petticoats used as evidence by the victims of crime, as well as the defendants whose clothing incriminated them, show how the treatment of such intimate clothing drew upon contemporary assumptions about modesty, the female body, and sexuality. I suggest that as an item of clothing worn by all women during this period, the petticoat connects the experiences of women across classes. The article brings together recent work on courtroom performance, female criminality, and material culture. Throughout, I argue that women seeking justice in the eighteenth century (plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses) risked feeling literally, or figuratively, exposed.
The eighteenth century saw dramatic changes in the way that criminal law was managed, enacted, an... more The eighteenth century saw dramatic changes in the way that criminal law was managed, enacted, and represented. The introduction of lawyers into criminal trials from the 1730s significantly altered the dynamics of trial practice, directing focus away from the ‘accused speaks’ process, and becoming instead a battle of wits, eloquence and performance between barristers. The role of emotions in this transformation has received little attention, in part due to the assumption that criminal justice prioritises ‘truth’ and ‘facts’ in order to reach a verdict. However, emotions played a crucial role in determining guilt or innocence, and in the way that criminal justice was perceived by society at large. From the stories told by litigants about personal grievances and crimes of sudden passion, to the more structured narratives of legal professionals who sought to represent virtue assailed, innocence corrupted, and families divided, storytelling to provoke emotion was at the heart of the criminal trial. This paper will argue that emotions were integral to the eighteenth-century criminal trial, and were essential in evaluating and responding to the competing narratives at play within the courtroom. Even the judge and jury existed within a ‘grand narrative’ of English justice, and were expected to show a range of emotions, such as sorrow, pity, mercy, anger, and disgust. The emotional responses of those present in the courtroom – weeping judges, fainting witnesses, or disruptive audiences – were shaped by their understanding of the narratives at play. How did people involved in criminal proceedings navigate this emotional landscape, and what kinds of emotional manipulation were they likely to encounter in the courtroom? How was emotion evoked and represented in eighteenth-century literary and print culture, and how did literary and imaginative texts influence courtroom behaviour? This paper will use case studies from trial reports, criminal lives, and broader print culture to explore the emotional styles of the eighteenth-century courtroom.
This paper considers the way that the Fete de la Federation sought to create or enforce emotional... more This paper considers the way that the Fete de la Federation sought to create or enforce emotional unity, but at the same time provoked many emotional responses which reflected the anxieties of the French people in 1790. Furthermore, it layers on top of these interpretations some examples of how the emotional resonance of Federation was represented and altered on the British stage. The staging of patriotism was re-appropriated to foreground British liberties, but also a healthy approbation of events across the Channel. I will finish by suggesting that many Britons sought to use the Federation to create emotional community with their French counterparts.
During the 1790s, many English observers wrote home about their experiences of revolutionary Pari... more During the 1790s, many English observers wrote home about their experiences of revolutionary Paris. While some, like Arthur Young and Dr Rigby, experienced the French Revolution as part of an extended programme of travel, others flocked to Paris specifically to observe and participate in the events that were unfolding. Alongside personal interest in French politics, commentators like Helen Maria Williams expressed the objective of transmitting a “truthful” account of Parisian events to a misinformed readership at home. The Bastille, the Hôtel de Ville, and the Assemblée Nationale became stops on a tour of revolutionary Paris, spectacles to be patriotically consumed and duly recorded.
While recent scholarship has focused on female travel writers and their experiences in revolutionary France, less attention has been paid to the way “revolution tourists” were perceived in France. Foreign friends to the revolution were welcomed in 1789-90, but by 1793, and the passage of the Law of Suspects, to be English and in Paris was to be persona non grata. This paper will consider French representations of tourists (particularly women) in Paris in the 1790s. Focusing on a counter-revolutionary pamphlet by monarchist writer Pierre Victor Malouet, entitled The Journey and Conspiracy of Two Strangers, it considers the ways that the trappings and discourse of the English tourist quickly became unpalatable to the French consciousness, even before the outbreak of war in February 1793. While traditional Grand Tourists avoided Paris, formerly a hub of upper class polite sociability, I ask what kind of person was curious enough to venture where, as Williams’ friends unreliably informed her, “every town is the scene of a massacre; […] every street is blackened with a gallows, and every highway deluged with blood”?
"Throughout the eighteenth century, dialogue form had been employed in political tracts and pamph... more "Throughout the eighteenth century, dialogue form had been employed in political tracts and pamphlets to play two conflicting arguments against each other; it was clearly thought that to see an argument defeated in a pseudo-conversation was an effective way to discredit it. In Britain and France alike, this format mediated conversations between the rich and the poor, husband and wife, or professed to educate, but it was also a powerful tool in dealing with debates on issues such as slavery, religion, and the law.
With the outbreak of revolution in France, the dialogue in pamphlet form became a way for loyalist associations in England to push forward their perspectives on the English constitution, on reformists and other trouble makers, and to teach loyalty to King and country, for example through the Reeves Association publications. In France, moreover, it became a vehicle for the discussion of taxation and government, with fictional members of the National Assembly addressing those of the Farmer’s General, for example. The conversation form soon began to take the shape of political debates between participants of different nationalities, who pitched themselves on opposite sides of the Channel to argue points based partly on sound political argument, and partly on a presumed set of national characteristics.
This paper examines several of these imagined conversations, in an attempt to mediate the discussion of political principles across both countries. It identifies strains of national stereotyping, but also the kind of mutually beneficial comparison which was taking place in these dialogues, which forced commentators to turn a harsh eye not only on their opponents, but on their own arguments, too. Furthermore, it will investigate some of the ways in which these conversations became more interactive than was originally intended, opening up discussions of political subjects to a broader audience and in many cases eliciting further responses.
"
This paper became an article for a special edition of 'Skepsi', published as a result of the conf... more This paper became an article for a special edition of 'Skepsi', published as a result of the conference. The issue can be found here: http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/skepsi/issues/v05i02/
This paper considers the work of Jacob Heinrich Meister, a Swiss protestant exile, director of a... more This paper considers the work of Jacob Heinrich Meister, a Swiss protestant exile, director of a high-end literary periodical in Paris, and author of numerous political treatises between 1770 and 1820. His position brought him into contact with figures such as Denis Diderot and Jacques Necker, and into a lifelong correspondence with Madame de Staël, associations which make him a referent in many discussions of late eighteenth century French culture, but never a primary focus. Meister’s literary output was considerable, tackling a variety of philosophical and moral subjects. This paper considers his work during the 1790s, in response to the French Revolution.
Meister’s work is particularly important to my current research project, which considers representations of radicalism, particularly Jacobinism, in England and France during the 1790s. As a stranger in both countries, he offers a unique insight into the progress and effects of the French Revolution, producing travel accounts, reflections and pamphlets. Central to this paper is the 1791 pamphlet, Conversations Patriotiques d’un Jacobin et d’un Anglais, a satirised conversation on the revolution between stereotyped characters of each nation. A copy of this pamphlet held in the Leeds Brotherton Library reopens the debate, being literally covered with the annotations of a furious Jacobin hand. Meister initiates a conversation which this new disputant decisively finishes, exemplifying the revolutionary fervour and spirit of impassioned debate which characterised early French Jacobinism.
My paper attempts contextualise this pamphlet and its annotator, as a unique example of the radical debate in the early 1790s, and as a fascinating subversion of the standard dialogue pamphlet format. It also offers an evaluation of the Leeds pamphlet in the context of a larger body of French Revolutionary pamphlets.
The dog has always played an important role in British cultural history. Man’s best friend has b... more The dog has always played an important role in British cultural history. Man’s best friend has been used as a symbol of fidelity, security, and as part of the rural idyll which defined early modern Britain. During the eighteenth century, however, the increasingly social relationship between men and dogs became a channel through which to express concerns over individual rights and liberty, wealth and poverty, and a way to satirise relationships between men. The origins of the Dog Tax lie in seventeenth century game law reform, which prevented those without land from owning greyhounds or other hunting dogs, reinforcing traditional class boundaries and asserting the rights of the landed aristocracy. The tax which was eventually passed in 1796, however, was a product of a more complicated debate, providing a focal point for national anxiety, and an easy target for satirists. By unravelling the rich web of symbols, customs and traditions which were referenced in relation to this issue, it is possible to view the debate over the Dog Tax as a culmination of years of anxiety, expressed through story, song, and pictures, and to map the cultural progression of a kind of animal imagery which mirrored contemporary debates on humanity and the role of animals, but also passed comment on the British political situation.
This paper interrogates a rich body of print satires, alongside the more serious debates over the proposed Dog Tax, to provide a unique snapshot into the workings of print culture in the Georgian period, showcasing how an emblem of national character could also become an outlet for social and political discontent.
The French Revolution is recognised as a period in which gossip and rumour flourished, and public... more The French Revolution is recognised as a period in which gossip and rumour flourished, and public opinion gave credit to and circulated various conspiracy theories. Some of these, such as the suggestion that the course of the revolution was largely effected by the interference and financial incentives of William Pitt and acted out by his agents, still attract scholarly attention and curiosity today. However, a large corpus of lesser known “grande conspirations” published during the 1790s have been all but forgotten: some because they were too fantastical, others clearly fabricated from scanty evidence, but perhaps the greater part because, despite their tantalising titles, they were not conspiracy theories at all. The hijack of the “Grande Conspiration” narrative was one way to attract attention to pamphlets which stated fairly well-known facts and re-hashed rumours. These pamphlets particularly focussed on the monarchy, an assumed “aristocratic party”, and the Jacobin Club as hotbeds of treason and complot. This paper considers the Jacobin Club as the hub of this fashion for denunciation, partly because of the continuing accusations issued by the club itself, but also due to the radical actions of its members, which could lend even the more far-fetched conspiracy theories a certain legitimacy. By looking at several “Grande Conspiration” pamphlets published during the early stages of the revolution, and also by considering the use of the same narrative in theatrical pieces of the time, I attempt to uncover the politics and agency of the conspiracy for a contemporary audience. Perhaps it is not the conspiracy itself which is a cause concern, but rather the wider issues and anxieties which it embodies. The complot calls into question the revolutionary values of liberty, equality, fraternity, and the oath of loyalty to the nation, the king and the law, but more fundamentally it taps in to a continuing concern over, and quest for the truth.
ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions Blog: Histories of Emotions: From Medieval E... more ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions Blog: Histories of Emotions: From Medieval Europe to Contemporary Australia
In a blog post launching a new CHE research cluster on 'Media & Emotion', postdoctoral researcher... more In a blog post launching a new CHE research cluster on 'Media & Emotion', postdoctoral researchers Amy Milka and Abaigéal Warfield of The University of Adelaide ask: How should affecting material (images, videos, testimony) be used by the media, and how can it be misused? How can the public’s emotional responses to a story shape the media’s portrayal of it, and vice versa? These questions are pertinent in discussions of the media’s role in our lives today, but they are equally important for historians of media and emotion.
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Papers by Amy Milka
This article considers the performance of gentility by criminals and impostors during the eighteenth century, arguing that a genteel appearance and behaviour not only facilitated crime, but allowed the accused criminal to access sympathy in the courtroom arena. Gentility comprised a set of polite mannerisms, gestures and appearances, but also required the performance of particular emotions. The performance of ‘genteel’ emotions could bring together a socially disparate group united by a shared valuation of sympathies, feelings and values. Those who claimed gentility in the eighteenth century expressed a concern for personal and public honour, a fear of shame and the desire to be viewed as someone possessing particularly refined emotional capacities such as sensibility and sympathy. Moreover, a successful claim to gentility could secure preferential treatment even for an impostor of a doubtful background and dubious character.
Talks by Amy Milka
By examining trial reports and fictional accounts of petticoats in the courtroom, this paper unpicks the relationship between wearer, garment, and society, and reveal the complex emotions provoked by the display and discussion of intimate apparel in the courtroom space. I consider representations of the petticoat in periodical culture, moving on to address how the intimate relationship between clothing and identity impacted on victims of crime. I explain how the value of clothing not only motivated crime in the eighteenth century, but dictated the way that it was prosecuted. Petticoats used as evidence by the victims of crime, as well as the defendants whose clothing incriminated them, show how the treatment of such intimate clothing drew upon contemporary assumptions about modesty, the female body, and sexuality. I suggest that as an item of clothing worn by all women during this period, the petticoat connects the experiences of women across classes. The article brings together recent work on courtroom performance, female criminality, and material culture. Throughout, I argue that women seeking justice in the eighteenth century (plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses) risked feeling literally, or figuratively, exposed.
This paper will argue that emotions were integral to the eighteenth-century criminal trial, and were essential in evaluating and responding to the competing narratives at play within the courtroom. Even the judge and jury existed within a ‘grand narrative’ of English justice, and were expected to show a range of emotions, such as sorrow, pity, mercy, anger, and disgust. The emotional responses of those present in the courtroom – weeping judges, fainting witnesses, or disruptive audiences – were shaped by their understanding of the narratives at play. How did people involved in criminal proceedings navigate this emotional landscape, and what kinds of emotional manipulation were they likely to encounter in the courtroom? How was emotion evoked and represented in eighteenth-century literary and print culture, and how did literary and imaginative texts influence courtroom behaviour? This paper will use case studies from trial reports, criminal lives, and broader print culture to explore the emotional styles of the eighteenth-century courtroom.
While recent scholarship has focused on female travel writers and their experiences in revolutionary France, less attention has been paid to the way “revolution tourists” were perceived in France. Foreign friends to the revolution were welcomed in 1789-90, but by 1793, and the passage of the Law of Suspects, to be English and in Paris was to be persona non grata. This paper will consider French representations of tourists (particularly women) in Paris in the 1790s. Focusing on a counter-revolutionary pamphlet by monarchist writer Pierre Victor Malouet, entitled The Journey and Conspiracy of Two Strangers, it considers the ways that the trappings and discourse of the English tourist quickly became unpalatable to the French consciousness, even before the outbreak of war in February 1793. While traditional Grand Tourists avoided Paris, formerly a hub of upper class polite sociability, I ask what kind of person was curious enough to venture where, as Williams’ friends unreliably informed her, “every town is the scene of a massacre; […] every street is blackened with a gallows, and every highway deluged with blood”?
With the outbreak of revolution in France, the dialogue in pamphlet form became a way for loyalist associations in England to push forward their perspectives on the English constitution, on reformists and other trouble makers, and to teach loyalty to King and country, for example through the Reeves Association publications. In France, moreover, it became a vehicle for the discussion of taxation and government, with fictional members of the National Assembly addressing those of the Farmer’s General, for example. The conversation form soon began to take the shape of political debates between participants of different nationalities, who pitched themselves on opposite sides of the Channel to argue points based partly on sound political argument, and partly on a presumed set of national characteristics.
This paper examines several of these imagined conversations, in an attempt to mediate the discussion of political principles across both countries. It identifies strains of national stereotyping, but also the kind of mutually beneficial comparison which was taking place in these dialogues, which forced commentators to turn a harsh eye not only on their opponents, but on their own arguments, too. Furthermore, it will investigate some of the ways in which these conversations became more interactive than was originally intended, opening up discussions of political subjects to a broader audience and in many cases eliciting further responses.
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Meister’s work is particularly important to my current research project, which considers representations of radicalism, particularly Jacobinism, in England and France during the 1790s. As a stranger in both countries, he offers a unique insight into the progress and effects of the French Revolution, producing travel accounts, reflections and pamphlets. Central to this paper is the 1791 pamphlet, Conversations Patriotiques d’un Jacobin et d’un Anglais, a satirised conversation on the revolution between stereotyped characters of each nation. A copy of this pamphlet held in the Leeds Brotherton Library reopens the debate, being literally covered with the annotations of a furious Jacobin hand. Meister initiates a conversation which this new disputant decisively finishes, exemplifying the revolutionary fervour and spirit of impassioned debate which characterised early French Jacobinism.
My paper attempts contextualise this pamphlet and its annotator, as a unique example of the radical debate in the early 1790s, and as a fascinating subversion of the standard dialogue pamphlet format. It also offers an evaluation of the Leeds pamphlet in the context of a larger body of French Revolutionary pamphlets.
This paper interrogates a rich body of print satires, alongside the more serious debates over the proposed Dog Tax, to provide a unique snapshot into the workings of print culture in the Georgian period, showcasing how an emblem of national character could also become an outlet for social and political discontent.
The hijack of the “Grande Conspiration” narrative was one way to attract attention to pamphlets which stated fairly well-known facts and re-hashed rumours. These pamphlets particularly focussed on the monarchy, an assumed “aristocratic party”, and the Jacobin Club as hotbeds of treason and complot. This paper considers the Jacobin Club as the hub of this fashion for denunciation, partly because of the continuing accusations issued by the club itself, but also due to the radical actions of its members, which could lend even the more far-fetched conspiracy theories a certain legitimacy.
By looking at several “Grande Conspiration” pamphlets published during the early stages of the revolution, and also by considering the use of the same narrative in theatrical pieces of the time, I attempt to uncover the politics and agency of the conspiracy for a contemporary audience. Perhaps it is not the conspiracy itself which is a cause concern, but rather the wider issues and anxieties which it embodies. The complot calls into question the revolutionary values of liberty, equality, fraternity, and the oath of loyalty to the nation, the king and the law, but more fundamentally it taps in to a continuing concern over, and quest for the truth.
Blog Posts by Amy Milka
This article considers the performance of gentility by criminals and impostors during the eighteenth century, arguing that a genteel appearance and behaviour not only facilitated crime, but allowed the accused criminal to access sympathy in the courtroom arena. Gentility comprised a set of polite mannerisms, gestures and appearances, but also required the performance of particular emotions. The performance of ‘genteel’ emotions could bring together a socially disparate group united by a shared valuation of sympathies, feelings and values. Those who claimed gentility in the eighteenth century expressed a concern for personal and public honour, a fear of shame and the desire to be viewed as someone possessing particularly refined emotional capacities such as sensibility and sympathy. Moreover, a successful claim to gentility could secure preferential treatment even for an impostor of a doubtful background and dubious character.
By examining trial reports and fictional accounts of petticoats in the courtroom, this paper unpicks the relationship between wearer, garment, and society, and reveal the complex emotions provoked by the display and discussion of intimate apparel in the courtroom space. I consider representations of the petticoat in periodical culture, moving on to address how the intimate relationship between clothing and identity impacted on victims of crime. I explain how the value of clothing not only motivated crime in the eighteenth century, but dictated the way that it was prosecuted. Petticoats used as evidence by the victims of crime, as well as the defendants whose clothing incriminated them, show how the treatment of such intimate clothing drew upon contemporary assumptions about modesty, the female body, and sexuality. I suggest that as an item of clothing worn by all women during this period, the petticoat connects the experiences of women across classes. The article brings together recent work on courtroom performance, female criminality, and material culture. Throughout, I argue that women seeking justice in the eighteenth century (plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses) risked feeling literally, or figuratively, exposed.
This paper will argue that emotions were integral to the eighteenth-century criminal trial, and were essential in evaluating and responding to the competing narratives at play within the courtroom. Even the judge and jury existed within a ‘grand narrative’ of English justice, and were expected to show a range of emotions, such as sorrow, pity, mercy, anger, and disgust. The emotional responses of those present in the courtroom – weeping judges, fainting witnesses, or disruptive audiences – were shaped by their understanding of the narratives at play. How did people involved in criminal proceedings navigate this emotional landscape, and what kinds of emotional manipulation were they likely to encounter in the courtroom? How was emotion evoked and represented in eighteenth-century literary and print culture, and how did literary and imaginative texts influence courtroom behaviour? This paper will use case studies from trial reports, criminal lives, and broader print culture to explore the emotional styles of the eighteenth-century courtroom.
While recent scholarship has focused on female travel writers and their experiences in revolutionary France, less attention has been paid to the way “revolution tourists” were perceived in France. Foreign friends to the revolution were welcomed in 1789-90, but by 1793, and the passage of the Law of Suspects, to be English and in Paris was to be persona non grata. This paper will consider French representations of tourists (particularly women) in Paris in the 1790s. Focusing on a counter-revolutionary pamphlet by monarchist writer Pierre Victor Malouet, entitled The Journey and Conspiracy of Two Strangers, it considers the ways that the trappings and discourse of the English tourist quickly became unpalatable to the French consciousness, even before the outbreak of war in February 1793. While traditional Grand Tourists avoided Paris, formerly a hub of upper class polite sociability, I ask what kind of person was curious enough to venture where, as Williams’ friends unreliably informed her, “every town is the scene of a massacre; […] every street is blackened with a gallows, and every highway deluged with blood”?
With the outbreak of revolution in France, the dialogue in pamphlet form became a way for loyalist associations in England to push forward their perspectives on the English constitution, on reformists and other trouble makers, and to teach loyalty to King and country, for example through the Reeves Association publications. In France, moreover, it became a vehicle for the discussion of taxation and government, with fictional members of the National Assembly addressing those of the Farmer’s General, for example. The conversation form soon began to take the shape of political debates between participants of different nationalities, who pitched themselves on opposite sides of the Channel to argue points based partly on sound political argument, and partly on a presumed set of national characteristics.
This paper examines several of these imagined conversations, in an attempt to mediate the discussion of political principles across both countries. It identifies strains of national stereotyping, but also the kind of mutually beneficial comparison which was taking place in these dialogues, which forced commentators to turn a harsh eye not only on their opponents, but on their own arguments, too. Furthermore, it will investigate some of the ways in which these conversations became more interactive than was originally intended, opening up discussions of political subjects to a broader audience and in many cases eliciting further responses.
"
Meister’s work is particularly important to my current research project, which considers representations of radicalism, particularly Jacobinism, in England and France during the 1790s. As a stranger in both countries, he offers a unique insight into the progress and effects of the French Revolution, producing travel accounts, reflections and pamphlets. Central to this paper is the 1791 pamphlet, Conversations Patriotiques d’un Jacobin et d’un Anglais, a satirised conversation on the revolution between stereotyped characters of each nation. A copy of this pamphlet held in the Leeds Brotherton Library reopens the debate, being literally covered with the annotations of a furious Jacobin hand. Meister initiates a conversation which this new disputant decisively finishes, exemplifying the revolutionary fervour and spirit of impassioned debate which characterised early French Jacobinism.
My paper attempts contextualise this pamphlet and its annotator, as a unique example of the radical debate in the early 1790s, and as a fascinating subversion of the standard dialogue pamphlet format. It also offers an evaluation of the Leeds pamphlet in the context of a larger body of French Revolutionary pamphlets.
This paper interrogates a rich body of print satires, alongside the more serious debates over the proposed Dog Tax, to provide a unique snapshot into the workings of print culture in the Georgian period, showcasing how an emblem of national character could also become an outlet for social and political discontent.
The hijack of the “Grande Conspiration” narrative was one way to attract attention to pamphlets which stated fairly well-known facts and re-hashed rumours. These pamphlets particularly focussed on the monarchy, an assumed “aristocratic party”, and the Jacobin Club as hotbeds of treason and complot. This paper considers the Jacobin Club as the hub of this fashion for denunciation, partly because of the continuing accusations issued by the club itself, but also due to the radical actions of its members, which could lend even the more far-fetched conspiracy theories a certain legitimacy.
By looking at several “Grande Conspiration” pamphlets published during the early stages of the revolution, and also by considering the use of the same narrative in theatrical pieces of the time, I attempt to uncover the politics and agency of the conspiracy for a contemporary audience. Perhaps it is not the conspiracy itself which is a cause concern, but rather the wider issues and anxieties which it embodies. The complot calls into question the revolutionary values of liberty, equality, fraternity, and the oath of loyalty to the nation, the king and the law, but more fundamentally it taps in to a continuing concern over, and quest for the truth.
How should affecting material (images, videos, testimony) be used by the media, and how can it be misused? How can the public’s emotional responses to a story shape the media’s portrayal of it, and vice versa?
These questions are pertinent in discussions of the media’s role in our lives today, but they are equally important for historians of media and emotion.