Victorian Divorce

Book excerpt: First published in 1985. Beginning from the first documented British divorce in 1670, Professor Horstman traces the development of divorce, the different means by which it came about, and the relation of practice to moral attitudes. Many cases are presented in summary form, and give a vivid picture of the patterns of behaviour and the agonies of conscience that accompanied this last resort solution. Written in a vivid style, the book casts an often startling light on the behaviour of our ancestors of little more than a century ago.