This is the first volume in a complete history of the
documentation of English cant and slang from 1567 to the
present. It gives unparalleled insights into the early history
of slang, the people who used it, and how and why it was
recorded. Well over a hundred glossaries of cant and slang were
published between 1567 and 1784. The cant lists reveal the
secret language allegedly used by thieves and beggars to conceal
their illicit conspiracies: Dr Coleman investigates where and
how they were produced and the relationship between such lists
and canting literature. She considers why this period was so
fascinated by crime and by criminals, and apparently so obsessed
with the need to record their language. How far, she asks, are
the lists genuine records of contemporary cant, and how far the
products of literary invention? Who produced them, and how were
they researched? Who bought them, and what did they hope to gain
from them? This absorbing and astute book will be an invaluable
resource for anyone interested in