Great Catastrophe of My Life : Divorce in the Old Dominion - Thomas E. Buckley

Great Catastrophe of My Life

Divorce in the Old Dominion

By: Thomas E. Buckley

Paperback | 9 September 2002

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Stories of marital tragedy and legal struggle in the antebellum South; 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.
Industry Reviews
"Buckley tells some remarkable stories, and he tells them well. Historians of the South and of family, gender, and social life will value this book for the marvelous insights it gives us into the lives of ordinary men and women, their families, and their communities." - Jan Lewis, Rutgers University at Newark

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