The Criminal was published by Walter Scott in 1890 as part of the Contemporary Science Series (which Ellis edited), and it represents his first major contribution to social science. The book surveys the emerging European literature on criminal anthropology — particularly the work of Cesare Lombroso, whose theory of the “born criminal” (identifiable by physical stigmata) was then dominant — and presents it to an English audience with critical commentary.
Ellis’s position was more nuanced than Lombroso’s biological determinism. He acknowledged that heredity played a role in criminal behavior but insisted that social conditions — poverty, lack of education, alcoholism, urban squalor — were equally important. His approach combined biological, psychological, and sociological perspectives in a way that was ahead of its time, anticipating the multi-factorial models of criminology that would not become standard until the mid-twentieth century.
The book’s significance lies partly in its method: Ellis insisted on studying criminals empirically rather than moralistically, treating criminal behavior as a phenomenon to be explained rather than simply condemned. This scientific stance — applied later to sexuality with far more controversial results — was Ellis’s fundamental intellectual commitment: that nothing human should be placed beyond the reach of rational investigation.
Collecting The Criminal
First edition (Walter Scott, London, 1890): Cloth binding.
Market values:
- First edition: $80–$200
- Later editions: $20–$60