Over the long eighteenth century English governance was transformed by large adjustments to the legal instruments and processes of power. This book documents and analyzes these shifts and focuses upon the changing relations between legal authority and the English people.

This work bridges an important gap between two eras of English political and social history. ... this work deserves the wide audience it will undoubtedly find. (Aaron Graham, The Journal of the Historical Association, October, 2016)

This is an enlightening and detailed study, ambitious in its scope and depth. David Lemmings has produced an excellent body of research on law and governance in the eighteenth century and his vast knowledge is reflected in this book. this book reveals a fascinating aspect of eighteenth-century society and its governance, and will appeal broadly to anybody with an interest in early modern English history. (Tessa Morrison, Parergon, Vol. 33 (1), 2016)

Autorentext
DAVID LEMMINGSProfessor of History at the University of Adelaide, Australia. He has published several books on legal culture and governance in eighteenth century England andis editor (with Clare Walker) of Moral Panics, the Media and Law in Early Modern England (2009).

Inhalt
Preface and Acknowledgements List of Tables Note on Works Cited in Endnotes Introduction: Law, Consent and Command The Local Experience of Law and Authority: Quarter Sessions, JPs, and the People Going to Law: the Rise and Fall of Civil Litigation Crime and the Administration of Criminal Law: Problems, Solutions, and Participation Parliament, Legislation and the People: the Idea and Experience of Leviathan Conclusion: Governance, People and Law in the Eighteenth Century