Description
Book SynopsisThis book, which features the autobiographical narrative of Mistress Mary Hampson, a 17th-century woman in an abusive and violent marriage, reconstructs the events in and around this harrowing tale and rescues a compelling and complicated voice from the past.
Trade Review"An astonishingly detailed case-study of a troubled marriage and its consequences, this volume offers readers the opportunity to look at the Hampson marriage from different points of view, across time and genre, and in a range of contexts." -- Frances Dolan, University of California * Davis *
"What a fantastic text for scholars of early modern women, marriage and marital conflict! We hear the story of a troubled, abusive marriage in Mary Hampson's own words set against Dr. Malay's expert explanation of married women's legal position and its repercussions for notions of marital abuse. A great resource for teachers and students alike." -- JoAnne Bailey * Oxford Brookes University *
"Hampson's short autobiographical narrative of her profoundly troubled marriage is usefully contextualized with an essay on early modern marriage and the asphyxiating practice of coverture, which denied women any separate legal identity or control over the property they brought to the marriage, Malay usefully reviews the archival evidence that complicates and expands upon Hampson's own account. She also connects the case to contemporary debates about the desacralization of marriage and the possibility of divorce . . . her volume offers a valuable teaching tool." -- Barbara Fuchs *
Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *
"This is a remarkably detailed and engaging study that bears witness to the authority that seventeenth-century women could find in the written word." -- Alice Eardley *
Times Literary Supplement *
