The Great Catastrophe of My Life

Divorce in the Old Dominion

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Family Law, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Marriage & Family, History, Americas, United States, Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)
Cover of the book The Great Catastrophe of My Life by Thomas E. Buckley, The University of North Carolina Press
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Author: Thomas E. Buckley ISBN: 9780807861486
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: November 3, 2003
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Thomas E. Buckley
ISBN: 9780807861486
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: November 3, 2003
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

From the end of the Revolution until 1851, the Virginia legislature granted most divorces in the state. It granted divorces rarely, however, turning down two-thirds of those who petitioned for them. Men and women who sought release from unhappy marriages faced a harsh legal system buttressed by the political, religious, and communal cultures of southern life. Through the lens of this hostile environment, Thomas Buckley explores with sympathy the lives and legal struggles of those who challenged it.

Based on research in almost 500 divorce files, The Great Catastrophe of My Life involves a wide cross-section of Virginians. Their stories expose southern attitudes and practices involving a spectrum of issues from marriage and family life to gender relations, interracial sex, adultery, desertion, and domestic violence. Although the oppressive legal regime these husbands and wives battled has passed away, the emotions behind their efforts to dissolve the bonds of marriage still resonate strongly.

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From the end of the Revolution until 1851, the Virginia legislature granted most divorces in the state. It granted divorces rarely, however, turning down two-thirds of those who petitioned for them. Men and women who sought release from unhappy marriages faced a harsh legal system buttressed by the political, religious, and communal cultures of southern life. Through the lens of this hostile environment, Thomas Buckley explores with sympathy the lives and legal struggles of those who challenged it.

Based on research in almost 500 divorce files, The Great Catastrophe of My Life involves a wide cross-section of Virginians. Their stories expose southern attitudes and practices involving a spectrum of issues from marriage and family life to gender relations, interracial sex, adultery, desertion, and domestic violence. Although the oppressive legal regime these husbands and wives battled has passed away, the emotions behind their efforts to dissolve the bonds of marriage still resonate strongly.

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