English Society and the Prison: Time, Culture and Politics in the Development of the Modern Prison, 1850-1920 : The Boydell Press : 9781843830177 : 1843830175 : 23 Oct 2003 : Prison disturbances during the period reveal inadequacies of the practice and philosophy of custodial sentencing. This social history analyses a period in which the modern prison experienced some of its most serious challenges both on a practical and philosophical level. These include the way in which prison was utilised to deal with poor, disaffected and political sections of society, and the failure to establish in the prison a legitimate means of punishment. English prisons have been the site of continued struggles over power, waged between prisoners, prison staffand prison authorities. Such struggles have been strongly influenced by social, political and penal contexts. These dynamics are examined from a perspective which emphasises the forms of disturbances that occurred within Englishprisons between 1850