Bach's meticulous reconsideration of the evidence is a caution against conflating policy and practice. For criminologists and sociologists, as well as crime and social historians, Bach raises these fundamental considerations whilst reaffirming the importance of clear, original and evidence-led research. Combatting London's Criminal Class is, therefore, a valuable and most welcome addition to research in this area.

Cultural and Social History

'This is an interesting case study of how one part of the legal system (that focused on the repression of habitual offenders) operated in the Victorian era. The theme of repeat offenders can speak to larger questions related to Victorian understandings of crime and criminality, the nature of the state, and the limits of governmentality. It will provide an in-depth look at how the system of policing and surveillance functioned in the Victorian era, and will be able to point out its inherent contradictions and failings.'

Ellen Boucher, Associate Professor of History and Chair of European Studies, Amherst College, USA

'A really interesting, new take on nineteenth-century crime. It made me think differently about how I'd been studying the history of crime and policing. A key strength is the proposal's account of the need we have for a project of this kind. Even in the busy field of crime studies, the area of 'organised' crime is something we do not hear a lot about.'

Andrew Mangham, University of Reading, UK

'I'm very taken by it. It's main virtue, as I see it, is the way it delves beneath the theories and legislation of the period with regard to recidivism, to the actual practice of the magistrates and police who were responsible for implementing them, to show how different they were; with both law enforcement agencies avoiding or tempering the more 'repressive' effects of the 1869 and 1871 Acts. So what Parliament enacted was not necessarily a guide to what happened on the ground; a lesson that historians in other areas of British social history might profitably take on board.'

Bernard Porter, Emeritus Prof, Newcastle University, UK