Book excerpt: Why was the era of Augustan elegance also that of Hogarthian squalor? How far was the Industrial Revolution responsible for the rise of street gangs and highwaymen? Was it a coincidence that the autocratic monarchies of Europe suffered less from violent crime? Were such heroes as Dick Turpin motivated by Robin Hood impulses? Why were public executions regarded as entertainment and not deterrents? The author attempts to answer all these questions in this study of a society he characterizes as riddled with insecurities and governed by envies and fears. The book is aimed at students - graduate and undergraduate - of 18th European and British history, and those interested in crime, the law, criminality, and punishment.