Vagrancy in English Culture and Society, 1650-1750 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781350058125)

CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2017

The first social and cultural history of vagrancy between 1650 and 1750, this book combines sources from across England and the Atlantic world to describe the shifting and desperate experiences of the very poorest and most marginalized of people in early modernity; the outcasts, the wandering destitute, the disabled veteran, the aged labourer, the solitary pregnant woman on the road and those referred to as vagabonds and beggars are all explored in this comprehensive account of the subject. Using a rich array of archival and literary sources, Vagrancy in English Culture and Society, 1650-1750 offers a history not only of the experiences of vagrants themselves, but also of how the settled 'better sort' perceived vagrancy, how it was culturally represented in both popular and elite literature as a shadowy underworld of dissembling rogues, gypsies, and pedlars, and how these representations powerfully affected the lives of vagrants themselves.

Hitchcock's is an important study for all scholars and students interested in the social and cultural history of early modern England.

Author: David Hitchcock
ISBN-10: 1350058122
ISBN-13: 9781350058125
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Language: English
Published: 01/25/2018
Pages: 248
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.78lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.53d