The Convict's Farewell: with Advice to Criminals, before and after Trial

James ParkersonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.3

Word count: 9.9K words
Chapters: 1

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Convict's Farewell: with Advice to Criminals, before and after TrialAuthor: Parkerson, James,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 25, 2010

Editor's review

This short English work takes the parting words of a man about to serve his sentence as its point of departure, offering counsel to those involved at different stages of a case; it has the dual character of moral exhortation and documentary pamphlet. Its value lies not in plot but in showing modern readers how the 19th-century English-speaking world handled crime and punishment, repentance and rebirth: the tone is blunt, the ethical stance clear, and the religious and moral coloring of the age is thick. The language is not difficult, making it a useful sample for understanding the social attitudes and popular exhortatory style of the time. While reading, note how the author addresses his audience, how the sequence of advice is arranged, and which statements were common assumptions then and which now differ markedly. Suitable for readers interested in legal history, social history, and marginal texts of English literature, and also as English extensive reading material, though not recommended for those seeking systematic criminological knowledge or a literary masterpiece.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Historical readers interested in 19th-century British society and legal attitudes
Learners who want to practice extensive reading with short original English texts
Literary scholars studying exhortatory genres and popular moral tracts
General readers curious about discourses on the treatment of criminals in the modern English-speaking world

Not a good fit for

Specialist readers expecting systematic criminological theory or empirical data
Readers who prefer strongly plotted fiction or modern memoirs
Practitioners seeking guidance on contemporary judicial practice

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the overall structure of the advice, then revisit the differences in intended audience across sections.
Note period-specific moral and religious language as you read for later verification.
Read alongside other 19th-century moral tracts or prison-themed texts to observe similarities and differences in discourse.
The original English text is limited in length; consider reading it in one sitting and writing a short reading note of about a hundred words.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or documentary writing?

Based on available information, it is a short exhortatory text that offers advice to those involved in legal cases in the form of parting counsel, not a plot-driven novel. It should be read as a period text of social attitudes rather than as fictional narrative.

How difficult is the English, and what background is needed?

The text is 19th-century popular English exhortatory prose; sentence structures are not complex, though some moral and religious terms are uncommon today. Readers with college-level English who are willing to look up words can generally read it through, and unfamiliar expressions can be understood from context.

What can readers gain from this book?

The main gain lies in observing how society then viewed crime and punishment, repentance and reform, and how the adviser organized his arguments and chose his tone. It is suitable as supplementary material for social history and genre studies, not as a source of contemporary criminological knowledge.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

James Parkerson Author · English

James Parkerson was an English poet of the early nineteenth century. Public information about him is limited, and many details of his life cannot be verified. His works were mainly published in Norwich, often under the name J. Parkerson, Jun. Nine of his works are held in the collection, including Poetical Works, The Bankrupt; or, Advice to the Insolvent, Characters from Life; or, Moral Hints in Verse, and An Address to a Wealthy Libertine. His poems cover a wide range of subjects, offering commentary on current affairs and moral exhortation while attending to the circumstances of the socially disadvantaged; The Convict's Farewell, for instance, gives advice to criminals before and after trial. He also wrote poems commemorating Lord Nelson and Queen Caroline, as well as verse sketches addressed to the Norfolk Yeomanry, showing a sustained interest in local affairs and public figures.