Family, Violence and Honour: the Walworth Murder

This project uses a notorious 1873 patricide to explore wider tensions surrounding the ideals of family and honour in the 19thC U.S. Intimate violence existed at all levels of society, including elite white families, like the Walworths, in which expectations of respectability typically cloaked conflict. Because Frank Walworth killed his abusive father to protect his mother, and because the murder touched off a storm of debate, we have a unique opportunity to analyse legal and popular understandings of violence, honour and criminal responsibility. We will interpret this case through a monograph, a radio documentary, two journal special issues and a conference on honour killing in historical and cross-cultural perspective.