[Trial].[Adultery and Divorce]. Trials for Adultery: Or, the History of Divorces. Being Select Trials at Doctors Commons, for Adultery, Fornication, Cruelty, Impotence, &c. From the Year 1760, to the Present Time. Including the whole of the Evidence on Each Cause. Together With the Letters, &c. That Have Been Intercepted Between the Amorous Parties. The Whole Forming a Complete History of the Private Life, Intrigues, and Amours of Many Characters in the Most Elevated Sphere: Every Scene and Transaction, However Ridiculous, Whimsical, or Extraordinary, Being Fairly Represented, as Becomes a Faithful Historian, Who is Fully Determined Not to Sacrifice Truth at the Shrine of Guilt and Folly. Taken in Short Hand, by a Civilian. London: Printed for S. Bladon, 1779-1780. Seven Volumes. Plates. Reprint available January, 2005 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-58477-468-1. Cloth. $695. * With numerous ribald engravings. This is the most extensive compilation of scandalous divorce cases produced in eighteenth-century England. Produced for amusement and titillation, the accounts in these volumes are valuable nevertheless for their combination of accurate reports and vivid background histories. In all, this collection is a fascinating document of English social and legal attitudes toward adultery and divorce at the dawn of an era of unprecedented social change.
Scholars of the British Enlightenment who study obstetrical history traditionally focus on the rise of the male-midwife and competition between the sexes. This set comprises pamphlets, treatises, lectures for midwifery students, texts on the establishment of lying-in hospitals, and catalogues of obstetrical apparatuses collected by male-midwives.
An insightful portrait of Austen’s friend and fellow writer Anne Lefroy and the society that surrounded these two literary women. In this insightful new biography of Anne Lefroy, Judy Stove investigates the life of a writer who had a direct and undeniable influence on the life and works of Jane Austen. Jane shared some of her earliest writings with Anne, who became a devoted confidant; it is believed that their friendship was an essential component in their creativity. As a published female writer, Anne was an immense source of inspiration to Jane as she developed her own talents. Judy Stove, a member of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, brings a wealth of insight to this illuminating history of a literary friendship. She has uncovered fascinating snippets of information relating to Anne Lefroy’s circle, and her book addresses developments across a period of great social and political change. Setting Lefroy’s life in context, she looks at the war against Napoleon and illustrates evolutions in healthcare as well as changes in religious beliefs and practices that shaped the world of these remarkable women.