This volume collates sixteen of the more important tracts from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries dealing with the lives and misdoings of thieves, rogues and tricksters.

A General History of the Pirates has long been a classic of seafaring literature and was inspiration to both Robert Louis Stevenson and J.M. Barrie. Nothing is known about Captain Charles Johnson, and it is thought that the name may be assumed - there are even some who believe he may have been Daniel Defoe. All that can be stated with any certainty is that in 1724 a small octavo volume appeared that became so popular it grew through 4 editions over 2 years and is still famed today. Historians from both sides of the Atlantic have attested to the accuracy of the work's content. This is a reprint of the 1927 reissued 4th edition - enhanced by the Arthur L. Hayward's editorial touches.

A Complete History of the Highwaymen discloses the most secret and barbarous murders, unparalleled robberies, notorious thefts and unheard of cheats, setting them in a true light and exposing them to public view for the common benefit of mankind. The accounts and confessions are drawn from imprisoned villains who awaited their fate at the gallows. This reprint makes available the 1926 reissue of Captain Smith's fifth edition and includes an introduction by Arthur L. Hayward, which sets the accounts in the appropriate historical context.

The Elizabethan Underworld collects together sixteen of the more important tracts from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries dealing with the lives and misdoings of thieves, rogues, and tricksters. For the most part the original authors were men of experience - watchmen, constables and those who drifted into the London underworld and learnt its tricks. A thorough introduction contributes a full historical background and outlines contemporary social contexts.

Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals was originally published in three volumes and sold by John Osborn on Paternoster Row. The volumes recount the lives, crimes and executions of eighteenth century lawbreakers. By '[setting] forth the entertainments of vice in their proper colours', the volumes were intended to provide a moral banister and reminder that, far from treading a glamorous road of pleasure, the path taken by a criminal was in fact a highway to the gallows. The original prefaces to the books, and the tales themselves, also provide invaluable insights into the history of Crown Law at the time, the grounds on which it was founded, the methods by which it prosecuted, and the judgements inflicted on criminals accordingly. This is a reprint of Arthur L. Hayward's 1927 reissue of the three volumes in one.

When it first appeared, The English Rogue was declared a forbidden book on account of its gross indecency. Copies were printed secretly and sold furtively at alehouses until 1665 when it was properly licensed. When requested, the author, Richard Head, declined to produce a second volume as it was his belief that the text had been interpreted as autobiographical and his reputation had suffered as a consequence. Francis Kirkman, who had acquired the rights to the work, set about the endeavour himself and wrote the remaining volumes, publishing them in 1671. This is a reprint of the 1928 reissue containing Head's original book and two of Kirkman's added volumes.