Crime, Prosecution and Social Relations offers a fascinating view of the social history of Georgian London through the hitherto neglected prism of the Summary courts. This study looks at how rich and poor Londoners used these courts to prosecute those that assaulted or stole from them; to negotiate better working conditions; and to punish prostitutes, vagrants and disorderly apprentices. It argues that while most previous work on crime has focused on the courts of assize and quarter session, and on offences that attracted sentences of hanging and transportation, it was at Summary level that most people experienced the law in this period. This is the first monograph to deal exclusively with the nature and role of summary proceedings in England in the long eighteenth century within the context of the social history of crime and the criminal justice system and therefore represents an important addition to our understanding of this area of history