David J. Coxis a Research Associate at the Institute of Law, Politics and Justice, Keele University.

'Cox's approach is so methodical and finely referenced that the reader is persuaded by his argument that the Runners have not, until now, had their due. [...] This book is long overdue, especially as the Runners have appeared in a number of recent works of fiction as Georgian quasi-James Bond characters. This revisionist account ensures that they will be better understood and may cease to be defined as hopeless failures in the crime-infested world we know through the art of contemporary caricaturists Thomas Rowlandson and James Gillray. They were, as Cox admirably shows, heroes of their time.' – Stephen Wade, University of Hull and the University of Oxford,

• 1. Introduction: Revealing an 'Eleusinian Mystery' 2. 'Men of Known and Approved Fidelity': The Development of the Bow Street System 3. 'If the Gentleman Writes, the Gentleman Pays': The Employers of Principal Officers 4. 'Contending with Desperate Characters': The Types of Crimes Investigated by Principal Officers 5. 'Police Officers for the Country at Large': The Nationwide Role of the Principal Officers, 6. 'Domiciliary Visits, Spies, and all the rest of Fouche's Contrivances': Six Case Studies of Provincial Investigations by Principal Officers 7. 'More Expert in Tracing and Detecting Crime': The Post-1829 Situation 8. 'Rescuing from an Historical Cul-de-sac': The Legacy of the Bow Street Principal Officers. References

David J. Coxis a Research Associate at the Institute of Law, Politics and Justice, Keele University.

'Cox's approach is so methodical and finely referenced that the reader is persuaded by his argument that the Runners have not, until now, had their due. [...] This book is long overdue, especially as the Runners have appeared in a number of recent works of fiction as Georgian quasi-James Bond characters. This revisionist account ensures that they will be better understood and may cease to be defined as hopeless failures in the crime-infested world we know through the art of contemporary caricaturists Thomas Rowlandson and James Gillray. They were, as Cox admirably shows, heroes of their time.' – Stephen Wade, University of Hull and the University of Oxford,

• 1. Introduction: Revealing an 'Eleusinian Mystery' 2. 'Men of Known and Approved Fidelity': The Development of the Bow Street System 3. 'If the Gentleman Writes, the Gentleman Pays': The Employers of Principal Officers 4. 'Contending with Desperate Characters': The Types of Crimes Investigated by Principal Officers 5. 'Police Officers for the Country at Large': The Nationwide Role of the Principal Officers, 6. 'Domiciliary Visits, Spies, and all the rest of Fouche's Contrivances': Six Case Studies of Provincial Investigations by Principal Officers 7. 'More Expert in Tracing and Detecting Crime': The Post-1829 Situation 8. 'Rescuing from an Historical Cul-de-sac': The Legacy of the Bow Street Principal Officers. References