Shoplifting in Eighteenth-Century England

As a new consumer culture took root in eighteenth-century England and shops proliferated, the crime of shoplifting leaped to public prominence. Shoplifting in Eighteenth-Century England examines the nature and impact on society of this commercial crime at a time of rapid retail expansion during the long eighteenth century. As a new consumer culture took root in England and shops proliferated, the crime of shoplifting leaped to public prominence. In 1699 shoplifting became a hanging offence. Yet