Book of Murder

The Book of Murder, also known as the Marcus Affair, was a piece of propaganda written in the 1830s in opposition to the English Poor Laws. It was presented as the work of one pseudonymous "Marcus", and was published by Joshua Hobson.^[1] It aimed to incite opposition to the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, which had altered the nature of poor relief (how the state cared for poor people) in England and Wales. Previously, paupers were eligible for "outdoor relief" (handouts in money or in kind, with recipients living in their own homes); this shifted to "indoor relief", meaning that workhouses were built, institutions to provide shelter and basic sustenance.

The book came from two pamphlets by "Marcus" – "An Essay of Populousness" and "On the Possibility of Limiting Populousness", which discussed possible infanticide used to tackle a population explosion and killing by gas. The anti-Poor Law campaign alleged these pamphlets were the work of Poor Law Commissioners who were known to hold views on population similar to Thomas Malthus. The movement also alleged that copies of the original pamphlet had been suppressed.^[2]

One of the first to use the Marcus pamphlet to popularize the idea of a conspiracy against the poor in Radical and Chartist circles was the Reverend Joseph Rayner Stephens, a proponent of violent resistance to the government who made numerous references to the alleged conspiracy while traveling across the country during the period between his December 1838 arrest and 1839 imprisonment.^[3]

The books were published by the Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor in the Northern Star.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Bloy, Marjorie (16 November 2002). "The Book of Murder". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
^ Bloy, Marjorie. "Printed attacks on the Poor Law Amendment Act". A Web of English History. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
^ McDonagh, Josephine (2003). Child Murder and British Culture, 1720–1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-521-78193-0.

External links

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[V-Web_BOM-1] Bloy, Marjorie (16 November 2002). "The Book of Murder". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 4 October 2010.

[2] Bloy, Marjorie. "Printed attacks on the Poor Law Amendment Act". A Web of English History. Retrieved 9 December 2021.

[McDonagh_2003,_p._105-3] McDonagh, Josephine (2003). Child Murder and British Culture, 1720–1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-521-78193-0.

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v t e Poor laws of the British Isles
Poor laws by territory	England and Wales Scotland Ireland Isle of Man	Nantwich workhouse
Old Poor Law	Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 Tudor poor laws Poor Relief Act 1597 Poor Relief Act 1601 Poor Relief Act 1662 Relief of the Poor Act 1696 Poor Relief Act 1722 Relief of the Poor Act 1782 House of correction Overseer of the poor Poor rate Poor relief Buttock mail
Relief systems	Outdoor relief Speenhamland Labour Rate Roundsman Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor
New Poor Law	Royal commission (1832) Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 Less eligibility Workhouse Workhouse test Board of guardians Outdoor Labour Test Order Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order Poor law unions Opposition Book of Murder Scottish poorhouse
Changes after 1834	Poor Law Commission Poor Law Board Local Government Board Andover workhouse scandal Huddersfield workhouse scandal Union Chargeability Act
Decline and abolition	Liberal welfare reforms Royal Commission (1905–09) Majority Report Minority Report Interwar poverty National Assistance Act 1948
Other	Christmas Day in the Workhouse Historiography of the Poor Laws Timeline of the English Poor Law system Poor Relief Act List of poor law unions in England List of poor law unions in Wales List of Irish poor law unions

See also

References

External links