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Professor Zytaruk
ENGL 438
9 February 2022
True Crime Chapbooks in Context as Morally Instructive Fiction
Crime was a lucrative endeavor during the 18th century-- highway robbery was commonplace, as was more regular crime, like thievery. For need of something to combat the prevalence of crime, and to warn the common man about its moral abhorrence, the true crime narrative was born. Moll Flanders was one of these: the story of a criminal woman and her wild exploits, unique among its peers for avoiding the execution of its protagonist. Many early true crime narratives took the form of chapbooks, which were small books or booklets that typically contained short stories. Typically, those who published chapbooks about crime were intending them as moral lessons, often including written warnings that were, essentially, "words to live by"-- they wanted to turn those who were most inclined to commit these kinds of crimes in search of fortune or other sorts of gratification away from them. Essentially, they were set on using the format of fiction to go about suppressing crime, or at least attempting to, particularly by providing moral instruction, blatant or subtle, against it.
True crime narratives, particularly chapbooks, of the 18th century seem set upon drawing the reader in with in-depth descriptions of crimes committed: for example, in the story of Richard Mosely, the title suggests that we are to learn of his "whole life, [...] birth and parentage, and education". This is indeed true: we learn that his "father was a Lock-Smith" (Whole Life 2) and that he often found himself spending most of his time "Gaming, Playing, Drinking, and [in] vain Company" (2). The description of his vices before launching into exposition about his misdeed serves as both moral warning and humanization; in learning about his parentage and life story, in essence, we are brought to realize his humanity. This is especially important to note when looking at the repeated moral warning at both the start and the end of the chapbook: an expression that under the right circumstances, anyone can be a "monster", or a criminal; it just takes a certain push, which could be anything from surface level reasons like "support[ing] and maintain[ing] [one's] Extravagances" (Whole Life 2) to the deeper, like snapping from societal pressure and lashing out. This exact idea that "anyone can commit a crime" is likely also what served to draw readers to the true crime genre, and in fact what draws people to it to this day. These people were just like us, until something changed that caused them to act against societal norms and thus commit heinous acts. Publishers brought out these works, then, to remind readers that they, as humans, are vulnerable to committing these acts, and should thus adhere to moral virtues lest they stoop to such a low. Indeed it titillates the reader by describing in graphic detail the various crimes committed by these people (murder is a common theme, as taking the life of another human being is oft considered the most cruel act of them all); but it also provides the reader with a moral lesson.
These moral lessons vary structurally from book to book in their wording and bluntness, though they retain threads of logical consistency. Take, for example, the warning in "The cruel son, or, the unhappy mother." and compare it to the warning in the first chapbook. In the former, the reader is told rather bluntly that this "dreadful Instance" should remind the reader to "be diligent in their Callings; Honour their Parents, and be obedient to their Masters" (Whole Life 8). In the latter the warning is more subtle but not any less instructive, warning the reader through the very sentencing of Mr. Palmer himself (and the "ruffians") that if they succumb to their vices they will "receive a just Reward answerable to their wicked and unheard of Cruelty." (Read 10) These punishments are essentially always executions; during the 18th century, the typical punishment for crime was a sentence to death by hanging, in itself a public spectacle with a similar moral purpose that also tended to amuse its audience. As Oscar Sherwin writes, "hanging days were city holidays", and "thousands cheered the malefactors on their way to Tyburn" (1). Tyburn Tree (a gallows structure) was one of the most notorious execution spots, with the executions of "about 1100 men and almost 100 women", according to Clive Emsley's article The Journey from Newgate to Tyburn. Even teenagers were not exempt from being executed, as tales like Richard Mosely's prove. Crowds would gather at the gallows to watch executions, and these public displays of brutality were often equally intended as a show of force to keep the public in line with moral standards (deterring individuals from committing crimes, in simplest terms) as titillating spectacles, displays of "justice" that many enjoyed watching. After all, it was being served right before their eyes, with what they perceived as horrible people receiving fitting punishments; othering was likely a common tactic, to rationalize criminals as inhuman and thus deserving of such cruel punishment.
The brutal punishments that these "characters" receive serves to hammer in the moral lessons the stories are trying to teach: even James Hind, the "great robber of England", must die. He ends his life indicted for "treason against the State", for which he is "carried to Worchester [sic] and there drawn, hanged and quartered" (Angus 24). Even without explicitly stating the moral in layman's terms like other chapbooks, the lesson becomes clear, and the lesson is simple: "crime pays, until it doesn't". The criminal meets a grisly end and ends up morally and spiritually destitute, having thrown their lot in with demons and rebuking God. People typically fear death, so for many, knowing the fate they might face if they become criminals might have been enough to deter them. For others, their own internal moral codes might be enough of a moral compass. However, crime continued to persist and continues to do so to this day. Fiction is not a replacement for infrastructure that would better alleviate the need for crime. Regardless, these chapbooks argue that the best course of action is to continue to abide by the moral codes of society, lest one become a death-bound deviant.
Works Cited
The Cruel Son, or, the Unhappy Mother.: Being a Dismal Relation of One Mr. Palmer and Three Ruffins, Who Barbarously Murder'd His Own Mother ... Together with the Examination and Confession of Hunt, Palmer and Symonds .. Printed for J. Read, 1707.
Emsley, Clive, et al. “The Proceedings of the Old Bailey.” Schools - The Journey from Newgate to Tyburn - Central Criminal Court, https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/JourneyTyburn.jsp
The Merry Life and Mad Exploits of Capt. James Hind, the Great Robber of England. Printed by M. Angus and Soa Sic, 1800.
Sherwin, Oscar. “Crime and Punishment in England of the Eighteenth Century.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 5, no. 2, 1946, pp. 169–199., https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1536-7150.1946.tb01794.x.
The Whole Life, and Conversation, Birth and Parentage, and Education of Richard Mosely, Aged about Sixteen Years Old, for the Murther of His Own Grandmother Mary Payton, in the Parish of Sedgely in Staffordshire. ... Who Was Executed ... on Saturday the 12th April. Together with His Tryal ... Held at Stafford, on Thursday and Friday, the 3d and 4th of ... April, 1707. 1707.