John Beattie's newest book.

Congratulations to John Beattie on the publication of his new book The First English Detectives: The Bow Street Runners and the Policing of London, 1750-1840/. Published by Oxford University Press, the book represents the first comprehensive study of the Bow Street Runners from their establishment by Henry Fielding in the middle of the eighteenth century and subsequent development over the following decades into a stable group of officers who were, as John argues, detectives in all but name. A second theme in the book concerns attitudes and ideas about the policing of London more broadly, particularly from the 1780s when the detective and prosecutorial work of the runners came to be
challenged.

The present book represents John's major work over the past decade and follows on from his earlier book /Policing and Prosecution in London, 1660-1750: Urban Crime and the
Limits of Terror /which was also published by Oxford University Press.

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