Book contents
- Elizabeth Bowen in Context
- Elizabeth Bowen in Context
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Part IGenres
- Part IIAesthetics
- Part IIIEngagements
- Part IVLocations
- Part VStances
- Chapter 21Technology
- Chapter 22War
- Chapter 23Sexuality
- Chapter 24Sound
- Chapter 25Crime and Punishment
- Chapter 26Cold War
- Part VIIdentities
- Part VIIReputation
- Further Reading
- Index
Chapter 25 - Crime and Punishment
from Part V - Stances
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 March 2026
Book contents
- Elizabeth Bowen in Context
- Elizabeth Bowen in Context
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Part IGenres
- Part IIAesthetics
- Part IIIEngagements
- Part IVLocations
- Part VStances
- Chapter 21Technology
- Chapter 22War
- Chapter 23Sexuality
- Chapter 24Sound
- Chapter 25Crime and Punishment
- Chapter 26Cold War
- Part VIIdentities
- Part VIIReputation
- Further Reading
- Index
Summary
While a novelist and short story writer may not have been an obvious choice for an appointment to the British Royal Commission on Capital Punishment (1949–53), Elizabeth Bowen’s presence on the commission was vital precisely for those credentials. This essay explores Bowen’s approach to criminality and punishment through her contributions to and commentary on the commission alongside her short fiction from the 1920s to the 1940s. She had been thinking and writing about murder, criminality, and the adjudication and punishment for decades before the commission heard its first testimony. She made two explicit interventions in the outcomes of the report – regarding the status of verbal provocation and the importance placed on marital status in murder cases – but her influence far exceeded those bounds. Bowen’s explorations and understanding of relationships, human temperament, insanity, mental deficiency or abnormality, and circumstance in her stories enhance British legal understanding and practice.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Elizabeth Bowen in Context , pp. 253 - 262Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.2 AAA
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
The HTML of this chapter complies with version 2.2 of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), offering more comprehensive accessibility measures for a broad range
of users and attains the highest
(AAA)
level of WCAG compliance, optimising the user experience by meeting the most extensive
accessibility guidelines.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Reading Order & Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
Visualised data also available as non-graphical data
You can access graphs or charts in a text or tabular format, so you are not excluded if you cannot process visual displays.
You can access graphs or charts in a text or tabular format, so you are not excluded if you cannot process visual displays.
Visual Accessibility
Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
Use of high contrast between text and background colour
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.