My thoughtful daughter came across a copy of The Shilling Law Book, dated 1899, and thought I might find it an interesting Christmas Present ;-) As the first chapter covers the law (put simply) regarding Marriage and Divorce and Husband and Wife in England and presumably Wales (but not Scotland) - I thought that some list members might also find it of interest too - it includes references to: How to get married, Minors, Breach of Promise, Personal rights of husband and wife, Interest in respective property, Devolution of property on death of either husband or wife, General effect of marriage, Obligations, Contracts of married women, Separate estate, Implied agency of married women, Separation and divorce, Marriage and divorce abroad. References are also made to the Married Woman's Property Act, 1882 As the Preface states "a work of this size can only present a bird's eye view of a small portion of it" so if you require more detail then you will need something more substantial, but it should answer some of our questions for this period. Oh! I nearly forgot - the URL is: http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Shilling_Law/Contents.html At the present time I've only included the first Chapter, but if anyone thinks that some of the other chapters eg Wills, might be of general interest, then please advise and I'll try to include it in due course Paul 50.33.50N 02.26.70W