TY - GEN AB - This Palgrave Pivot examines the history of the largely urban offence once known as vitriol throwing because the substance most commonly used was strong sulphuric acid, oil of vitriol. A relatively rare form of assault, it was motivated largely by revenge or jealousy and, because it was specifically designed to blind and mutilate, commonly targeted the victims face. The incidence of what was thus widely acknowledged to be an exceptionally cruel crime plateaued in the period 18501930 amid a sometimes surprisingly lenient legal response, before declining as a result of post-war social changes. In examining the factors that influenced both the crime and its punishment, the book makes an important contribution to criminal justice history by illuminating the role of gender, law and emotion from the perspective of both victim and perpetrator. Katherine D. Watson is Reader in History at Oxford Brookes University, UK. Her research interests focus on topics where medicine, crime and the law intersect, particularly in Britain since the seventeenth century. She is the author of Medicine and Justice: Medico-Legal Practice in England and Wales, 17001914 (2020). . AU - Watson, Katherine CN - HV6618 DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-27272-1 DO - doi ID - 1482314 KW - Voies de fait KW - Crimes passionnels KW - Acides. KW - Assault and battery KW - Crimes of passion KW - Acids. LK - https://univsouthin.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-031-27272-1 N2 - This Palgrave Pivot examines the history of the largely urban offence once known as vitriol throwing because the substance most commonly used was strong sulphuric acid, oil of vitriol. A relatively rare form of assault, it was motivated largely by revenge or jealousy and, because it was specifically designed to blind and mutilate, commonly targeted the victims face. The incidence of what was thus widely acknowledged to be an exceptionally cruel crime plateaued in the period 18501930 amid a sometimes surprisingly lenient legal response, before declining as a result of post-war social changes. In examining the factors that influenced both the crime and its punishment, the book makes an important contribution to criminal justice history by illuminating the role of gender, law and emotion from the perspective of both victim and perpetrator. Katherine D. Watson is Reader in History at Oxford Brookes University, UK. Her research interests focus on topics where medicine, crime and the law intersect, particularly in Britain since the seventeenth century. She is the author of Medicine and Justice: Medico-Legal Practice in England and Wales, 17001914 (2020). . SN - 9783031272721 SN - 3031272722 T1 - Acid attacks in Britain, 1760-1975 / TI - Acid attacks in Britain, 1760-1975 / UR - https://univsouthin.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-031-27272-1 ER -