Imperial Underworld : An Escaped Convict and the Transformation of the British Colonial Order (Hardcover)

Introduction: 'a soul reared in the lap of liberty'; 1. 'Plausible and audacious frauds': the theatre of imperial politics and reform; 2. 'A daemon behind the curtain': reputation, parliamentary politics and political spin; 3. Green-bag-makers and blood-hunters: information management and espionage; 4. 'In return for services rendered': liberated Africans or prize(d) slaves?; 5. 'The dishonorable Court of Gothamites': corrupting abolition; 6. 'Under the cloak of liberty': seditious libel, state security and the rights of 'free-born Englishmen'; 7. 'Unruly subjects': political removal and the problem of colonial constitutions; 8. 'A conspiracy of the darkest and foulest nature': the placard affair; 9. Bring up the body: the many escapes of 'Alexander Edwards'; Epilogue: 'an infamous end'.