In the mid-1800s England, how could a woman free herself from an abusive marriage? With a great deal of difficulty, it seems. For this novel, Parkins has used actual court documents and depositions as well as letters and newspaper accounts of a sensational 1847-48 trial in the Court of Arches, an ecclesiastical court that preceded the English secular divorce court. So, while the terminology in letters and documents may seem archaic and stilted, it is characteristic of the times.

Frances Dickinson had married Scotsman John Geils at 18, but for the next seven years suffered what in modern parlance is called gaslighting and coercive control, as well as his infidelities and physical abuse.

She bore him daughters and had suffered miscarriages during her marriage. When he started a suit for the restitution of conjugal rights, Frances, an heiress in her own right, sought a separation, alleging not only adultery, but also cruelty and sodomy. Newspapers of the day reported those court proceedings verbatim, with the case one of the most sensational at the time.

Frances came in for a good deal of abuse, being accused of everything from deception to immorality. All evidence in the court was submitted as written depositions, including one from a brave former servant who wrote that Geils had sexually coerced and violated her, providing evidence of adultery, securing Frances a legal separation, and she reverted to her maiden name.

Parkins has carried out enormous research into this case and visited places in England, Scotland and Italy, where Frances had lived. Perhaps we will read more about her in the future.

Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Jennifer Somerville

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