This study investigates how prevailing Victorian gender ideologies shaped the legal treatment and societal perception of women involved in criminal activity. Lucia Zedner, a scholar in the field of criminal justice history, utilizes extensive archival research and primary source documentation to analyze the penal system's response to female offenders. The work argues that the Victorian preoccupation with domesticity and moral reform fundamentally dictated the development of custodial institutions for women.

Experts recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the historical development of gendered penal policies. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the depth of the archival evidence provided.