Carnal Crimes

A powerful book by one of Canada's leading legal historians on sexual assault.

Cremorne Gardens was an actual, notorious 19th-century pleasure ground along the banks of the Thames, in London. The sexual high jinks that happened there so outraged its prurient neighbors, that eventually the Gardens was destroyed. Here, however, stories from the infamous Cremorne Gardens live on. Miss Caroline Redfield of Cremorne Gardens is drawn into an art fraud in an attempt to help her lover. Though she has never investigated a crime before, she has considerable resources to apply to the task — such as her sumptuous hourglass figure, her flashing eyes, and, above all, her willingness to bend over backwards to uncover the truth.

Discover the shadier side of York's history with this remarkable collection of true-life crimes from across the city. Featuring all factions of the criminal underworld, this macabre selection of tales includes murders, poisonings, poaching, theft and highway robbery and also details the gruesome punishments that awaiting the perpetrators of such crimes. Drawing on a wide variety of historical sources and containing many cases which have never before been published, York Murders will fascinate everyone interested in true crime and the history of the city.

This book discusses the relation between morality and politics, and morality and law, a field that has been studied for more than two thousand years The law is a part of human culture, and this touches upon a dynamic reality that is connected to the relation between nature and freedom, nature and culture. If such relations are not clearly understood, as is the case today, the relation between morality and law cannot be properly comprehended either. The relationship between morality and criminal law must constantly evolve to meet the needs of changing times and circumstances. Social changes and new situations require new answers. And since the relationship involves criminal law, legal philosophy and legal history, interdisciplinary approaches are always needed. Featuring fifteen original contributions by legal scholars from various European and American universities, the book does not pretend to solve the complexity of the relation between morality and criminal law, but instead expresses criticism, offers some proposals and stimulates further thought. The book tackles the topic from an interdisciplinary perspective (criminal law, constitutional law, legal philosophy and legal history, among others). As such, it appeals not only to scholars and students, but also to lawyers, policymakers, historians, theologians, philosophers and general readers who are interested in the legal, social, political and philosophical issues of our time.