End Of Marriage, The

Out Of Print... With the coming into force of the new Divorce Reform Act the whole structure of divorce law has been radically altered, providing now for divorce by consent and the irretrievable breakdown of marriage. In this new and fascinating study of divorce, the author traces the development of divorce law from the Middle Ages'death or nullity'through the seventeenth and eighteenth century divorces for the 'very rich and very few', to Victorian divorces for the middle class and finally 'divorce for all' in the midtwentieth century. In his 'part history, part guide to divorce law', David Morris examines, always with compassion and often with humour, some thing which has had a profound effect on the whole concept of family life, and thus, in directly, on the whole of society...an effect which is perhaps more far-reaching today than ever before. Divorce statistics have risen steeply since the war as have the numbers of people contracting second and third marriages. The effect on society, however, cannot be measured only in terms of deserted wives or husbands, but must take into account the thousands of children in motherless or father less families. Another significant social factor is the high failure rate of teenage marriages which are more and more frequent today. Is this failure an indictment of the age of 'free love' and flexible relationships Divorce, however, is not just the formal ending of a personal relationship, it is, to quote Quintin Hogg, as he then was; 'about economics. What are the wife's property rights Who is to support her if she is unable to work Can the former husband afford to support two households Who is to support the children As the author makes abundantly clear, this has often in history and certainly today, become a struggle for the rights of women, though emotive factors have tended to close many eyes to this aspect. David Morris, a former barrister who now practices as a solicitor, has had over twenty years experience of divorce work experience which has given him a fascinating insight into a sad, difficult, but immensely interesting and important subject.