Tracing Elizabeth: Crime, Gender, and Justice in 19th-Century England

Elizabeth Curdew’s life as a 19th-century repeat offender comes alive in this one-hour public event at the London Archives.

Using microhistory, the session traces her journey through crime and punishment, exploring the social, legal, and personal factors that shaped her choices. How did the criminal justice system treat women like Elizabeth? Did gender bias influence her path? Attendees step into the story, piecing together her experiences and trying to predict what happened across her life.

This interactive exploration sheds light on the challenges women faced during the Victorian period, revealing the human stories behind historical records.

Susanna Menis, BA Law, MSc Criminology, PhD law/Criminology, MA Historical Research, is a Lecturer in Law at Birkbeck London University, School of Law. Her research and teaching reflect an interest in law and the humanities, socio-historical and doctrinal approaches to law. She has worked with several criminal justice organisations and charities; her most recent engagement was with the Independent Monitoring Board of Prisons.

She writes and publishes on the historical development of prisons; she has carried out several projects addressing legal education, criminal law doctrine within social and critical legal history. She is the author of A History of Women’s Prisons in England: The Myth of Prisoner Reformation (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020), the object of three artwork exhibitions funded by the Grants for the Arts England.