An intellectual tour de force from one of today’s leading critics of Latin American literature and culture, The Corpus Delicti (The Body of Crime) is a manual of crime, a compendium of crime tales, and an extended meditation on the central role of crime in literature, in life, and in the life of the nation. Drawing her examples from canonical texts, popular novels, newspaper serials, and more, Josefina Ludmer captures the wide range of Argentine crime stories and detective fiction from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She offers more than a mere genre study, examining the relationship of crime and punishment to the formation of law, the body, and the modern state, exposing the ways in which literature—both high art and mass culture—can help construct, not just represent, social reality. Covering a dazzling array of primary sources, social history, and cultural theory, this provocative work is also a structural masterpiece, challenging readers as it charts new roles for text and notes. In this redefined dialogue, the notes variously offer alternate views, additional insights, and, often, parallel commentaries. Glen Close’s stylish translation captures the energy of Ludmer’s prose—simultaneously subtle and daring—for English-language readers.

Chronicles the true story of the disappearance of Evelyn Throsly Mumper, a wealthy widow who married Leonard Ewing Scott, a man she barely knew, and the eventual trial of her husband for her murder

The question of ‘why’ and ‘how’ certain individuals are drawn towards behaving in a way that contravenes the ‘Law of the Land’ is not an easy one to address. Researchers from various different fields have nevertheless attempted to develop theoretical explanations for the existence of different types of crime and why some individuals commit such acts. Crime and Criminality draws on criminology, sociology, psychology and neuroscience to offer a balanced perspective of crime, the criminal and criminality. Coverage includes: a comprehensive discussion of theoretical approaches to criminal behaviour, including biological, social and ‘rational choice’ approaches; an analysis of legal and social definitions of crime and how these definitions influence the way specific behaviours are labelled as criminal; an examination of different types of crime and criminals, from delinquents to ‘psychopaths’ and sex offenders; an exploration of different ways in which crime is predicted, including risk assessment and offender profiling and an overview of investigative techniques. Addressing a broad range of topics and offering a synthesis of competing theoretical explanations of criminality, this book is essential reading for students taking courses in criminology, criminal psychology, criminal behaviour, forensic psychology and psychological criminology.

Cases argued and determined in the Supreme Court of North Carolina.