ABSTRACT
The focus of this chapter is on Victorian literature and the material it incorporated when depicting contemporary views on the legal culture of the day, revealing the cultural contexts that framed these popular judgments. The concentration is less on literary ‘greats’ like Dickens and more on the more ephemeral popular literature of the day produced by figures such as Mrs Henry Wood, Hesba Stretton and Charlotte Yonge. Their writings provide unique insights into judgment processes in ways that relate strongly to the petty law-breaking that most affected people in their daily lives, in terms of impact of the judgments made on individuals and communities.
