Double trouble : bigamy and the law in England and Wales, 1604-2024 / Rebecca Probert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Probert, Rebecca, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bigamy.

Marriage law--Great Britain.

Marriage law.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 301 pages)

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), 2026.

System Details:

text file rdaft

Summary:

"This book provides the first in-depth study of the crime of bigamy from the 17th century to the present day. Between 1604 and 2024, around 30,000 individuals were prosecuted for bigamy in England and Wales. A few were able to establish a defence to the charge, but most were convicted. How they were punished varied hugely across the centuries - from execution, branding, whipping, transportation, and imprisonment through to fines and community service. Double Trouble details the legal framework that underpinned such prosecutions. As a companion volume to Double Lives: Stories of Bigamy in England and Wales, 1604-2024, it sets the offence in the context of the changing laws on marriage and divorce, and examines the consequences of bigamy for those involved, including the remedies that were available to the often-deceived second spouse. Drawing on a wide array of sources from the 17th century to the present day, including formal law reports, legal treatises, newspapers, censuses, parish registers, divorce petitions and Parliamentary debates, this book shows how bigamy should be taken seriously as an offence that all too often involved deception, abandonment and heartbreak."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Acknowledgements

Contents

1. Introduction

I. Setting the Scene

II. Terminology

III. Sources and Methodology

IV. A Very Brief History of Prosecuting Bigamy

V. Structure

2. From Excommunication to Execution: Criminalising Bigamy, 1604-1699

I. Introduction

II. The Passage of the Act

III. The Terms of the Act

IV. The Operation of the Act

V. The Reach of the Act

VI. Conclusion

3. Bigamy in an Era of Clandestine Weddings: Opportunities and Challenges, 1700-1754

II. New Opportunities for Bigamy?

III. New Challenges in Prosecuting Bigamy?

IV. The Lack of Opportunities for Bigamy in Provincial England and Wales

V. The Lack of Concern

4. The Impact of the Clandestine Marriages Act, 1755-1794

II. Trends in the Number of Bigamy Trials

III. The Impact of the Clandestine Marriages Act

IV. The Declining Role of the Church and its Courts

V. The Changing Profile, Punishment and Perception of Bigamists

5. The Threat of Transportation, 1795-1828

II. A 'Heinous' Offence?

III. A Transportable Offence

IV. A Lesser Offence

V. An ' Acceptable ' Offence ?

VI. An Increasingly Complex Offence

VII. Conclusion

6. The Changing Contours of the Crime, 1828-1844

II. Widening the Geographical Scope of the Offence

III. Narrowing the Scope of the Exceptions

IV. Taking Beliefs and Intentions into Account

V. ' Being Married, Shall Marry … '

VI. Reclassifying the Offence

VII. Prosecutions and Punishment

VIII. Conclusion

7. The Campaign for Divorce Reform, 1845-1857

II. The Emergence of the Divorce Narrative

III. The Impact on Sentencing

IV. The Assumed Stability of the Second Marriage.

V. The Limitations of the Divorce Narrative

VI. The Passage of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857

8. Developing the Modern Law, 1858-1913

II. Developing Divorce Law

III. Developing Family Law

IV. Developments in the Criminal Law

V. Developments in Sentencing

9. Wartime and its Aftermath, 1914-1949

II. Interpreting the Numbers: The Impact of the First World War

III. Coping with the Numbers: Bigamy in the Interwar Years

IV. Diverting the Numbers: New Legal Ways of Ending a Marriage

V. Attempting to Reduce the Numbers: The Second World War

10. The Changing Significance of Bigamy, 1950-1975

II. Changing Incidence, Prosecution, Punishment and Perceptions

III. The Changing Scope of the Crime

IV. The Changing Significance of Polygamous Marriages

V. The Changing Consequences of Bigamous Marriages

VI. The Need for Reform

11. The Kaleidoscope of Modern Bigamy, 1976-2024

II. Numbers

III. Debates

IV. Conclusion

12. Conclusion

I. Taking the Long View

II. Understanding the Past

III. ' Bigamy ' in the Context of Modern Family Law

IV. The Future of the Crime of Bigamy: To Abolish, Amend or Revise ?

V. The Bigger Picture

Bibliography

Index.

ISBN:

1-5099-7941-7

1-5099-7943-3

9781509979431 (electronic book)

OCLC:

1583171345