The story of 19th-century English poet Caroline Norton, who was denied access to her children by her husband after a sensational trial for adultery, and fought tirelessly for the rights of married women and mothers, resulting in the passage of the Infant Custody Act of 1839.
The prolific Lady Antonia Fraser has long been drawn to formidable — and tragic — women, starting with her first biography, of Mary Stuart, more than half a century ago. In the last decade, she has focused on the social upheavals of the early 19th century, writing books on the Great Reform Act of 1832 and the fight for Catholic Emancipation in 1829. She thus perhaps sometimes assumes a little too much knowledge of a reader coming fresh to the period. But Fraser’s skill and passion override all, and in The Case of the Married Woman, she renders her subject a woman of dignity, depth and character. Here we meet a heroine, one who fought for herself, for her children, and for all women and children.
Fraser gives insightful judgment on the questions that remain questions despite Caroline’s extensive archive ... Fraser’s is a spirited book, particularly moving on Norton’s old age. It is impressive to see one of our most important intellectual figures turning her mind to this remarkable woman from an earlier, different and not so different era. I would recommend Diane Atkinson’s longer, 2012 biography for anyone who wants to get to know Norton and her campaigns in detail. Both writers are sensitive readers of her own writing, and are judicious in the face of her frequent assertions of male superiority ... Fraser seems on the whole to think that the feminists have now succeeded, but I’m inclined to agree with Atkinson’s suggestion that it’s a story that reveals that not enough has changed.
The life of Caroline Norton, the 19th century author and campaigner who is the remarkable subject of Antonia Fraser’s engaging new biography The Case of the Married Woman, plays out like a Victorian sensation novel ... It’s a fascinating story, and Fraser’s account is compulsively readable, filled with intriguing period details ... A fitting tribute to a captivating, campaigning heroine.
