Johnson, Crime and Punishment, in Four Cases

Crime was rife in Georgian London, but so too was punishment. Hear how Samuel Johnson balanced compassion with Justice.

Johnson, Crime and Punishment, in Four Cases

Join us for a fascinating exploration of Samuel Johnson's entanglements with ideas of criminality and causality. Four experts offer their insights into ways in which Johnson wrestled with wrongdoing, his own, as well as those of other people, and tried to stake out the terms of a shift in the way society addressed and corrected them.

Crime was rife in Georgian London, but so too was punishment. In the eighteenth century, you could be hanged for more than 350 offences, including wounding a hawk, fraternizing with gypsies, and defacing some, (but not all) of London's bridges. People were sent to prison for being in debt as was the case with the poet Richard Savage; and street walkers were sent to Bridewells for 'correction', while those who paid them for their services went scot free.

Samuel Johnson had a boundless compassion for people in desperate situations, and at the same time, an unwavering sense of Justice. All his life, he vied with the difficulty of reconciling these two pillars of his character, and of good society itself. How successful he was, and how far he influenced the shape of the century that followed, will comprise some of the questions that these series of short talks will raise.

Ticket includes a welcome drink and a chance to view Dr Johnson's House.

Talk & Panel Discussion: 6.30pm-8pm

Doors open & welcome drink: 6pm

SPEAKERS:

Dr Lucy Powell

Professor Paul Davis

Professor Henry Power

Miriam Al Jamil

Please note, we have limited capacity, so a small number of priority tickets have been set aside for members. Early booking is recommended.