Marital breakdown is not a modern phenomenon. Options available to separating spouses in the English Common Law World were, however, heavily restricted by gender and economic status, with wives occupying a significantly more vulnerable position. Before 1857, full divorce remained the preserve of wealthy men who could navigate the expensive Parliamentary divorce process. The Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 transformed this landscape, establishing the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes and making divorce accessible beyond the elite. This legislation influenced divorce law in England and Wales and across the Common Law World well into the twentieth century.

This conference invites paper proposals from scholars in history, legal studies, human geography, anthropology, English, film studies, sociology, politics, and related disciplines. We welcome research on marital breakdown between 1801, when the first wife obtained a full divorce in England, and 1969, when the Divorce Reform Act introduced 'irretrievable breakdown' as grounds for divorce.

Possible topics might include: 

• Marital, familial, and parent/child relationships 

• Domestic abuse (physical, sexual, mental, financial, coercive control)

• Financial repercussions of marital breakdown

• Child custody and housing issues

• Emotions and the law

• Sex, sexuality, sexual health, pregnancy

• Role of courts and mediation

• Campaigns for legal reform

• Interactions between English Law and the wider world

• Representations in novels, plays, films, television, newspapers, or magazines