Lady Elizabeth Holland: a divorce in England of the 18th century

Abstract

Divorce was not allowed in England in the eighteenth century. It could only be achieved if you committed adultery and were very rich, though it was enormously expensive, both from a procedural perspective as well as from a purely economic point of view. From a procedural perspective, because the Parliament had to intervene dissolving the marriage with a Private Divorce Act. From the economic point of view, the adulterous woman lost all her assets and income. In addition, she was exposed to recrimination and social ostracism, and what was worse, she lost the care and love of her children, who were under the exclusive protection and will of their father. lady Holland was immersed in a divorce in the late eighteenth century. This paper studies that process.