Description
Gross Misbehavior and Wickedness-the charges Nina levied at James for his adultery (with the family governess) and extreme cruelty-recounts the protracted legal proceedings in juicy detail.
Jean Elson uses court documents, correspondence, journals, and interviews with descendants to recount the salacious case. In the process, she underscores how divorce-in an era when women needed husbands for economic support-was associated with women's aspirations for independence and rights. The Walkers' dispute, replete with plot twists and memorable characters, sheds light on a critical period in the evolution of American culture.
About the Author
Jean Elson is Senior Lecturer Emerita in the Department of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire and the author of Am I Still a Woman? Hysterectomy and Gender Identity (Temple).
Reviews
"Gross Misbehavior and Wickedness is a fascinating true story. Based on excellent archival work and Elson's precise scholarship, this meticulous contextualizing of divorce from a woman's point of view in the early twentieth century also has contemporary applications regarding gender relationships. Elson gradually reveals how women's rights have evolved over the years and why changes in U.S. divorce laws were essential. The narrative has several twists-it reads like a contemporary detective novel-as every legal victory for each side was appealed by the other. This is a moving and captivating book."-Elizabeth Ettorre, Professor Emerita of Sociology in the School of Law and Social Justice at the University of Liverpool and author of Autoethnography as Feminist Method: Sensitising the Feminist "I"
Book Information
ISBN 9781439913901
Author Jean Elson
Format Hardback
Page Count 340
Imprint Temple University Press,U.S.
Publisher Temple University Press,U.S.
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 25mm
