This thesis examines the depiction of gender and disorder in popular print. The source material for this study is comprised of broadsides, pamphlets, and ballads published in England during the seventeenth century. Using these sources as evidence, this article explores the authorial intent which influenced the publication of crime narratives, as well as the ways in which these narratives are indicative of changes in the perception of gender and order in society. The main contention of this thesis is that challenges to the monarchy’s authority in print before and after the English Civil War enabled the writers of popular print to challenge patriarchal authority in the common household as well. It specifically focuses on the depiction in print of disorder between husbands and wives.