Based on a range of primary material, this book follows the journeys of men and women implicated in the capital crimes of shoplifting, pickpocketing and distributing forged banknotes, through their trials and on to death, transportation, imprisonment or even to complete freedom.
In British gaols and on hulks, awaiting transportation to New South Wales, prisoners convicted of forged paper currency offences wrote to their influential prosecutor, the Bank of England. This volume comprises several hundred ofsuch letters held in the Bank's archives. Many, mainly those wirtten by or for women, came from the depths of abject misery and poverty, begging help to cope with prison conditions and with the journey to Australia. Others offeredinformation to the Bank about forged note traffickers in the hope of gaining some benefit for themselves. The collection reveals an extraordinary story of a surprising relationship between convicted prisoners and a mighty financial institution.
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