Research Catalog

Title

Promises broken : courtship, class, and gender in Victorian England / Ginger S. Frost.

Author

Frost, Ginger Suzanne, 1962-

Publication

Charlottesville : University Press of Virginia, 1995.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

ix, 241 p.; 24 cm.

Summary

In the nineteenth century, a woman who could prove a man had broken his promise to marry her was legally entitled to compensation for damages. Bridging the gap between history and literature, Ginger S. Frost offers an in-depth examination of these breaches of promise and compares actual with fictional cases. Although the most important factor in determining the outcome of such trials was gender, class was also vital in assessing the suitability of mates. Promises Broken highlights the courtship practices of lower- and lower middle-class Victorians, a group much neglected in previous scholarship.

Series Statement

Victorian literature and culture series

Uniform Title

Victorian literature and culture series.

Subject

• Breach of promise > Great Britain > History > 19th century
• Man-woman relationships > England > History > 19th century
• Courtship > England > History > 19th century
• Courtship > history
• Marriage > history

Genre/Form

History

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [211]-222) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction: the myth of breach of promise -- The legal history of breach of promise -- The court as public theatre -- Gender roles -- Courtships and weddings -- Broken engagements in Victorian England -- Four case studies, 1846-1916 -- Elite men debate -- Elite women debate -- Conclusion: the end of breach of promise?

ISBN

0813916100 (alk. paper)

LCCN

^^^95007637^

OCLC

• 32238926
• SCSB-10364482

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library