Synopses & Reviews
In 1836, after eleven years of marriage, George Norton locked his wife Caroline out of their house, prevented her from seeing her children and sued for divorce. He lost the suit but was allowed to keep the children and his wifes earnings from her writings. Caroline Norton wrote English Laws for Women after struggling unsuccessfully for eighteen years against this decision. It is a passionate plea for justice, filled with the horrifying details of Nortons own predicament and her scornful, accurate assessment of English statutes and the courts treatment of women.
Synopsis
After her marriage at the age of 19, Caroline Norton, granddaughter of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, contributed significantly to the family income through her writing of articles and poetry.
In 1836, after 11 years of marriage, George Norton locked his wife out of their house, prevented her from seeing her children and sued for divorce because of her alleged relationship with Lord Melbourne. Norton lost the suit, but he was allowed to keep the children and his wife’s earnings.
When she wrote English Laws for Women in 1854, she had struggled unsuccessfully for 18 years against this decision and had learned through this tragic and humiliating time how women fared under english law.
A precursor to feminist literature, this book is a passionate plea for justice, filled with the horrifying details of Norton’s own predicament and her scornful, accurate assessment of the statutes and the courts regarding women.
Reform of the Marriage and Divorce Laws came in 1857, and some years later the Married Women’s Property Act was passed, largely as a result of Caroline Norton’s “Defense,” and at the price of her own happiness.
About the Author
Caroline Norton was a socialite of British high-society, a political activist, a feminist, and a celebrated author in the nineteenth century. She wrote numerous novels and poetry collections, as well as two plays. She died in 1877.