The first major study of the history of British "bad girls", this book uses a wide range of professional, popular, and personal texts to explore the experiences of girls in the 20th century juvenile justice system. It examines the processes leading to their definition as variously delinquent, defective or neglected and analyzes the different possibilities for public and private reform made available to them. It shows how "bad girls", though few in number, posed a recurring challenge to established generational and gender orders, and questions the popular contemporary belief that "rising" delinquency among girls has been the product of late-20th century social changes.
