The first major study of the history of British "bad girls", this book uses a wide range of professional, popular, and personal texts to explore the experiences of girls in the 20th century juvenile justice system. It examines the processes leading to their definition as variously delinquent, defective or neglected and analyzes the different possibilities for public and private reform made available to them. It shows how "bad girls", though few in number, posed a recurring challenge to established generational and gender orders, and questions the popular contemporary belief that "rising" delinquency among girls has been the product of late-20th century social changes.
About the Author
PAMELA COX (BA, Ph.D. Cambridge) has worked as a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex since 1997. Prior to that she taught History at Essex and at University College Chichester. She specialises in the history of criminal justice, public policies and gender relations. Her other publications include Becoming Delinquent: British and European Youth, 1650-1950 (Ashgate 2002), co-edited with Heather Shore, and Crime in Modern Britain (OUP 2002), co-authored with colleagues from Essex. She will also be presenting the new BBC documentary, 'The Real Servants', scheduled for Autumn 2012.
