The State Trials and the Politics of Justice in Later Stuart England

The book explores the state trial as a legal process, a public spectacle, and a point of political conflict in late Stuart England, revisiting how it emerged as a new literary genre and helped to create modern Britons' understanding of their constitutional monarchy.

Format: Hardback
Length: 306 pages
Publication date: 06 August 2021
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

The book delves into the multifaceted nature of the state trial, examining it as a legal process, a public spectacle, and a point of political conflict. It sheds light on how these trials played a crucial role in the transition from a constitutional monarchy to a constitutional one. State trials in later Stuart England were some of the most significant media events of their time, attracting substantial public attention and serving as pivotal moments in the relationship between the state and its subjects.

In the realm of legal history, the period of later Stuart England is renowned for a series of landmark cases in which juries asserted their independence from judges. This marked a significant shift in the power dynamics between the judiciary and the legal system. On the political front, the government's sometimes shaky control over political trials during this time has been seen as a sign of the waning power of the Crown.

This book aims to revisit the process by which the state trial emerged as a legal proceeding, a public spectacle, a point of political conflict, and ultimately, a new literary genre. It explores the trials as events, as texts, and as moments in the creation of historical memory. By the early nineteenth century, the publication and republication of accounts of the state trials had become a standard part of how modern Britons imagined how their constitutional monarchy had superseded the absolutist pretensions of the Stuart monarchs.

This book seeks to uncover how the later Stuart state trials contributed to the shaping of that world. It examines the various aspects of these trials, including the legal proceedings, the media coverage, and the broader social and political implications. By examining these trials through a multidisciplinary lens, the book offers a fresh perspective on a crucial period in British history.

Weight: 584g
Dimension: 639 x 376 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783276264