Publisher's Synopsis
The Fleet prison is noteworthy for being one of the oldest of the English prisons, and one mentioned frequently in literature. This text explores the actual workings of the privately-owned debtors' prison, examining its earliest history from medieval times including: the celebrated inquiry into the administration of the prison during the 1610's; the misuse of authority by the warders in the 1680's onward; the infamous Parliamentary inquiry in 1729, based on the parliamentary reports and trial papers; and the closing of the hospital by parliamentary legislation in 1842.
