The long-term imprisonment of women: Penal servitude and release of female offenders serving long sentences, 1853–1900

This article explores the experiences and impact of long-term imprisonment on the lives of women sentenced to lengthy periods of incarceration (serving at least one sentence of 10 years or more) in the mid- to late-19th century in England and Wales. While most female offenders who were thought to warrant imprisonment in the Victorian period resulted then and today, in short prison sentences, this article focuses upon a smaller group of 41 women, who were subject to longer terms of penal servitude for serious or recidivist offending. This group was a combination of repeat property offenders, whose sentences got longer as they were multiply reconvicted, and those women committed under a long sentence for one serious act, usually of violence. Using ‘whole life’ history methodology, this article explores the offending and impact of imprisonment on these women’s lives, their experiences inside prison, and where possible their lives after release.