Sexual Slander in Nineteenth-Century England: Defamation in the Ecclesiastical Courts, 1815-1855

Waddams, S. M.

ISBN 10: 0802047505 / ISBN 13: 9780802047502

Editore: University of Toronto Press, 2000

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Dust jacket in very good condition. Minor shelf and handling wear, overall a clean solid copy with minimal signs of use. Dust jacket protected in a mylar cover. Secure packaging for safe delivery.

Codice articolo 1768938181

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Sexual Slander in Nineteenth-Century England: Defamation in the Ecclesiastical Courts, 1815-1855
• Editore: University of Toronto Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2000
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0802047505
• ISBN 13: 9780802047502
• Rilegatura: Hardcover
• Condizione: Very Good
• Condizione della sovraccoperta: Very Good
• Peso: 1,75 libbre

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

'You are a nasty bloody thundering whore,' one Gloucester woman said to another in 1852. Most lawyers and historians are surprised to learn that until 1855 language of this sort was punishable in the ecclesiastical courts.

In a study based on court records and lawyers' correspondence, Stephen Waddams shows how the law worked not only in theory but in practice. He concludes that, though this branch of the law had many deficiencies, it also had certain merits, especially from the point of view of women, who constituted 90 per cent of all complainants. The evidence of the witnesses supplies fascinating details of day-to-day events and of social attitudes from the words of participants, who were mostly of a very modest social status, and not accustomed to recording their views. Their evidence provides a valuable perspective not generally available to historians.

The study is of importance to legal historians and to all who have an interest in nineteenth-century England, especially to those concerned with the sexual reputation of women.

Informazioni sugli autori

Steven Waddams is a professor of law at the University of Toronto.

STEPHEN WADDAMS is a professor of law at the University of Toronto.