Skip to content

Booksellers & Trade Customers: Sign up for online bulk buying at trade.atlanticbooks.com for wholesale discounts

Booksellers: Create Account on our B2B Portal for wholesale discounts

"Beyond the Law": The Politics of Ending the Death Penalty for Sodomy in Britain

by Charles Upchurch
Sold out
₹11,001.00
Original price ₹11,001.00
Original price ₹11,001.00
₹11,001.00
Current price ₹11,001.00

Imported Edition - Ships in 18-21 Days

Free Shipping in India on orders above Rs. 500

Request Bulk Quantity Quote
+91
Book cover type: Hardcover
  • ISBN13: 9781439920336
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • Subject: N/A
  • Publisher: Temple University Press
  • Publisher Imprint: Temple University Press
  • Publication Date:
  • Pages: 326
  • Original Price: USD 110.5
  • Language: English
  • Edition: N/A
  • Item Weight: 617 grams
  • BISAC Subject(s): Europe / Great Britain / General

In nineteenth-century England, sodomy was punishable by death; even an accusation could damage a man's reputation for life. The last executions for this private, consensual act were in 1835, but the effort to change the law that allowed for those executions was intense and precarious, and not successful until 1861. In this groundbreaking book, "Beyond the Law," noted historian Charles Upchurch pieces together fragments from history and uses a queer history methodology to recount the untold story of the political process through which the law allowing for the death penalty for sodomy was almost ended in 1841.

Upchurch recounts the legal and political efforts of reformers like Jeremy Bentham and Lord John Russell-the latter of whom argued that the death penalty for sodomy was "beyond the law and above the law." He also reveals that a same-sex relationship linked the families of the two men responsible for co-sponsoring the key legislation. By recovering the various ethical, religious, and humanitarian arguments against punishing sodomy, "Beyond the Law" overturns longstanding assumptions of nineteenth-century British history. Upchurch demonstrates that social change came from an amalgam of reformist momentum, family affection, elitist politics, class privilege, enlightenment philosophy, and personal desires.

Charles Upchurch is an Associate Professor of British History at Florida State University and the author of Before Wilde: Sex between Men in Britain's age of Reform.

Trusted for over 48 years

Family Owned Company

Secure Payment

All Major Credit Cards/Debit Cards/UPI & More Accepted

New & Authentic Products

India's Largest Distributor

Need Support?

Whatsapp Us