In this pamphlet, the author addresses a number of issues contributing to problems in contemporary society, among them poor diet, prostitution, marriage and divorce, the plight of orphans, and women in prisons. She suggests, in part, that better education for women and their enfranchisement will be a part of the remedy for these social evils.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- List of figures and tables -- Preface -- 1 Punishment, reformation and prevention: changing attitudes to juvenile crime in mid-nineteenth century Britain -- 2 'The lamentable extent of youthful depravity': the Tron Riot of 1812 -- 3 Stirrings for change: developments in Edinburgh, 1812-1846 -- 4 'An intermediate step': the Glasgow House of Refuge, 1838-1854 -- 5 Prevention is better than cure: the Aberdeen industrial schools, 1841-1854