Description

Book Synopsis
Just when the clamor over traditional marriage couldn’t get any louder, along comes this groundbreaking book to ask, What tradition? In Marriage, a History, historian and marriage expert Stephanie Coontz takes readers from the marital intrigues of ancient Babylon to the torments of Victorian lovers to demonstrate how recent the idea of marrying for love is—and how absurd it would have seemed to most of our ancestors. It was when marriage moved into the emotional sphere in the nineteenth century, she argues, that it suffered as an institution just as it began to thrive as a personal relationship. This enlightening and hugely entertaining book brings intelligence, perspective, and wit to today’s marital debate.

Marriage a History

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    A Paperback / softback by Stephanie Coontz

    £17.00

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    RRP £20.00 – you save £3.00 (15%)

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      Book details

      Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc
      Published 28 February 2006
      ISBN-13 9780143036678
      978-0143036678
      ISBN-10 014303667X
      Also in:
      History: specific events and topics Sociology: family, kinship and relationships

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Just when the clamor over traditional marriage couldn’t get any louder, along comes this groundbreaking book to ask, What tradition? In Marriage, a History, historian and marriage expert Stephanie Coontz takes readers from the marital intrigues of ancient Babylon to the torments of Victorian lovers to demonstrate how recent the idea of marrying for love is—and how absurd it would have seemed to most of our ancestors. It was when marriage moved into the emotional sphere in the nineteenth century, she argues, that it suffered as an institution just as it began to thrive as a personal relationship. This enlightening and hugely entertaining book brings intelligence, perspective, and wit to today’s marital debate.

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