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A History of Marriage: From Same Sex Unions to Private Vows and Common Law, the Surprising Diversity of a Tradition

A History of Marriage: From Same Sex Unions to Private Vows and Common Law, the Surprising Diversity of a Tradition

by Elizabeth Abbott
A History of Marriage: From Same Sex Unions to Private Vows and Common Law, the Surprising Diversity of a Tradition

A History of Marriage: From Same Sex Unions to Private Vows and Common Law, the Surprising Diversity of a Tradition

by Elizabeth Abbott

Overview

What does the "tradition of marriage" really look like? In A History of Marriage, Elizabeth Abbott paints an often surprising picture of this most public, yet most intimate, institution. Ritual of romance, or social obligation? Eternal bliss, or cult of domesticity? Abbott reveals a complex tradition that includes same-sex unions, arranged marriages, dowries, self-marriages, and child brides. Marriage—in all its loving, unloving, decadent, and impoverished manifestations—is revealed here through Abbott's infectious curiosity.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781609806194
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Publication date: 08/11/2015
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 496
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Born in Montreal in 1942, ELIZABETH ABBOTT is a writer, lecturer and historian whose interests range across women's issues, social justice, the humane treatment of animals, and the environment. She holds a doctorate from McGill University in 19th century history. With the 2010 publication of A History of Marriage, Abbott completed her trilogy about human relationships, which includes the previous titles A History of Celibacy and A History of Mistresses. Abbott is also the author of several books and articles on the culture and politics of Haiti. Sugar: A Bittersweet History, inspired by her Antiguan heritage, was short-listed for the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. Abbott has lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and now resides in Toronto.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Part 1 Marriage in History

Introduction: The Way We (Really) Were 3

1 Husbands and Wives-Who Were They? 10

2 Learning Marriage, Rites of Passage 32

3 Weddings and the Married State 47

4 Love and Sex in Marriage 81

5 Marriage from within Four Walls 125

6 Go Forth and Multiply: Children at the Heart of Marriage 153

7 When Things Went Wrong 197

Part 2 Marriage in the Present and Future

Introduction: The Way We Think We Were and the Way We Think We Are 237

8 Unmarried and Often Single 246

9 A Gay Focus on the Nature of Marriage 267

10 Children and Parenting in Modern Marriages 290

11 For Richer or Poorer: Marriage and Money 315

12 Marriage and Race 330

13 Marriage Policies 351

14 Issues at the Heart of the Marriage Debate 381

Epilogue: Stop Sign 400

Notes 405

Select Bibliography 427

Index 439

Credits 457

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Related Subjects

Social Sciences
Social Sciences - General & Miscellaneous
Family - Sociocultural Aspects
Social Sciences
Social Sciences - General & Miscellaneous
Family - Sociocultural Aspects

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