Justice and the Mare's Ale

Alan Macfarlane is Reader in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, and Fellow of King's College.

‘This admirable work...cannot be overlooked; it must be read.' The Spectator ‘Fascinating.' The Observer‘It is as gripping as a detective story. Actually Alan Macfarlane's new book is a true detective story, set in the Westmorland in the 1680's.' New Society‘It is an extraordinary story very well told, largely in the words of the original depositions and other papers in the public records and in the extensive Fleming archive.' London Review of Books‘The Justice and the Mare's Ale is two books rather than one, and two rather good books at that. One of them is a work of detailed local history...giving a blow by blow account of the criminal careers and eventual comeuppance of a dozen Westmorland burglars and coin-clippers in the early 1680s. The other is a sequel to The Origins of English Individualism, a second instalment of Macfarlane's argument that the peculiarities of the English are very peculiar indeed, and that pace the sociological orthodoxy England never was a "pre-modern" or pre-capitalist or peasant society.' Times Educational Supplement‘A skilful reconstruction of Cumbrian skulduggery and the rewards of persistent justice.' Keswick Reminder‘It works as an extended case study and it is a splendid story.' The Economist‘A tribute to Cambridge scholarship.' Daily Telegraph