Feet of Marble or Feet of Clay? John Howard and the origins of prison reform in Britain, 1773-1790

The publication of John Howard’s The State of the Prisons in England and Wales (1777) has traditionally been considered to mark the starting point of a concerted prison reform movement in Britain. However, for many recent commentators, Howard’s was simply one voice among a choir of critics of the unreformed prisons; and someone, moreover, whose personal failings limited his impact. It is further suggested that other factors – notably the rising prison population, the suspension of transportation and the outbreak of disease – were ultimately more important in explaining the emergence of a campaign for prison reform. Based on a new analysis of Howard’s seminal work and its context, this article will argue that neither recent nor more traditional accounts capture the full significance and impact of the man’s actions and writings in this period, and that the book’s striking combination of expose and plan of action, of criticism and exhortation, succeeded in transforming the debate on penal questions.