Book review: The Politics of Penal Reform: Margery Fry and the Howard League (SOLON Explorations in Crime and Criminal Justice)
| Author | Lol Burke |
| Published date | 01 April 2021 |
| Date | 01 April 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/20662203211003389 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
92 European Journal of Probation 13(1)
References
Kerrison E (2018) Risky business, risk assessment, and other heteronormative misnomers in wom-
en’s community corrections and reentry planning. Punishment & Society 20(1): 134–151.
Leverentz A (2014) The Ex-prisoners Dilemma: How Women Negotiate Competing Narratives of
Re-entry and Desistance. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Miller R (2014) Devolving the carceral state: Race, prisoner reentry, and the micro-politics of
urban poverty management. Punishment & Society 16(3): 305–335.
Logan A, The Politics of Penal Reform: Margery Fry and the Howard League (SOLON Explorations in
Crime and Criminal Justice). Routledge, 2018; 184pp.: ISBN: 979-1-138-03937-7 (hbk), ISBN: 978-
1-315-17592-8 (ebk). hbk £99.19, pbk £32.21, ebk £33,29.
Reviewed by: Lol Burke, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
I must admit that when I was asked to review this book, I was not aware of Margery Fry.
Given her Quaker background and her role in penal reform, I assumed that she was a
descendent of Elizabeth Fry; an assumption which would have no doubt irritated the
subject of this book as she was often mistakenly described as a descendent of or mis-
named after the great prison reformer. However, as a long-standing supporter of the
Howard League – and a member of its Research Advisory Group – I was keen to learn
more about a woman who the author, Anne Logan, claims was ‘the dominant figure on
the penal reform scene during the 1930s and 1940s in England and Wales’. It is a claim
with some considerable justification. While the title of the book focusses on Margery
Fry’s role in overseeing the formation of the Howard League for Penal Reform through
the amalgamation of the Howard League and the Prison Reform League, her influence
shaped British, Colonial and arguably – worldwide penal reform during the 40-year
period between her assuming control of the Prison Reform League and her death. Her
achievements include being the first woman Justice of the Peace in England and she
played a key role in the establishment of the Magistrates Association. She helped lay the
foundations for the study of criminology in English Universities, as well as instigating
campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty, better pay and improved training for
probation officers and for compensation for victims. She did much to increase public
knowledge of prison conditions in Europe, China and North America and was influential
in the United Nations adoption of minimum standards for prisoners.
Despite her considerable achievements, like so many women, Margery Fry has not
received the acclaim that her role in shaping criminal justice policy and practice deserves
and her intellectual achievements have been largely overlooked and under-estimated.
This book is an attempt to redress this omission through the lens of a feminist, biographi-
cal study that places its subject within her gendered social and familial context. Although
she is best known for her role in the advancement of penal reform, Margery Fry only took
up this cause in the second half of her life and so Part 1 of Anne Logan’s book explores
the experiences and influences that helped shaped her before she took up penal reform.
Chapter 1 focusses on her Quaker family background and the gendered nature of late
Victorian English society that stirred her interest in feminism and the suffrage move-
ment. Chapter 2 covers her career in higher education from 1899 to 1914, a period during
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
