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3 - Letters of the Law

Everyday Uses of the Law at the Turn of the English Nineteenth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2020

Carolyn Steedman
Affiliation:
University of Warwick
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Summary

Some ordinary working people at the turn of the nineteenth century appear to have had the knowledge and the means to employ an attorney to write a legally threatening letter to those who had offended them in some way, thus bypassing the ‘official’ legal channel of the local magistrate. Their law consciousness is explored by examining four specific cases of a purchased ‘lawyer’s letter’ and by the variety of jokes – terrifying comedy – they made about the law.

Type
Chapter
Information
History and the Law
A Love Story
, pp. 59 - 82
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Letters of the Law
  • Carolyn Steedman, University of Warwick
  • Book: History and the Law
  • Online publication: 16 January 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108623506.003
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Letters of the Law
  • Carolyn Steedman, University of Warwick
  • Book: History and the Law
  • Online publication: 16 January 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108623506.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Letters of the Law
  • Carolyn Steedman, University of Warwick
  • Book: History and the Law
  • Online publication: 16 January 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108623506.003
Available formats
×