Female Serial Killers in Social Context: Criminological Institutionalism and the Case of Mary Ann Cotton

Description

Attempts to understand serial murder tend to focus on individual cases rather than the social context in which they occur. In contrast, this book sets the case of nineteenth-century serial killer Mary Ann Cotton in its full social context. Drawing from historical records of Cotton's court appearances, it shows how institutions such as the family, economy, and religion shaped the environment she inhabited.

Elizabeth Yardley is Associate Professor of Criminology and Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University. Her research explores unusual types of homicide and the social context in which these crimes occur. David Wilson is Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University and the founding Director for the Centre for Applied Criminology. He is regarded as one of the country's leading experts on serial murder

"Although there is much written about male serial killers, the female variety, being very much rarer, is little understood. This book is therefore a welcome and important addition to a fascinating topic." Professor David Canter, University of Huddersfield "This excellent book starkly and powerfully confronts our received understanding of female serial killers. By placing the institutions of family, church and economy in the dock we are forced to move beyond the psychological in grappling with the conditions which give rise to serial killing." Penny Green, Queen Mary, University of London