Episode 25- Deborah Siddoway - The Story of Divorce in 19th century society (and literature)

Victorian Legacies

In this episode I'm joined by Deborah Siddoway, who researches into how the nineteenth century English novel was both informed by and influenced the path of divorce law reform in England. We discuss how all her authors had complex relationships with marriage, and how this is reflected in their works. We also discuss how the no-fault divorce was ended at the time of recording, and how this changes a lot of things for people seeking divorces in England. We discuss her PhD progress, and also her podcast, The Story of Divorce, which tells the story to the background of divorce law in England, and explains the impetus behind the Divorce Act of 1857 finally being passed, making divorce more accessible in England with the establishment of the Divorce Court in London.
About my guest: Deborah graduated with a BA and an LLB from Sydney University, and then worked as a legal researcher for the Honourable Justice Beazley of the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, before beginning her career as a dual-qualified solicitor in leading legal firms in both Sydney and London. She was awarded an MA by research in Dickens Studies with the University of Buckingham for her paper entitled The Twisting of the Ring: Dickens, Divorce and the Evolution of his Views on Marriage. She was awarded the 2019 Partlow Prize for her paper ‘Misfortnet Marriages’: Discussing Divorce in Household Words. She commenced her PhD part-time in 2020, where her research examines how the nineteenth century English novel was both informed by and influenced the path of divorce law reform in England, with a focus on the works of authors such as Mary Shelley, the Brontë sisters, Caroline Norton, George Eliot, Charles Dickens, and Wilkie Collins in the context of a specific consideration of the social and legal imperatives leading to the enactment of the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857, one of the most comprehensive and significant reforms of the archaic system governing the marital relationship of the era. She is a postgraduate representative on the advisory board for the Centre for Nineteenth Century Studies. Her podcast series, The Story of Divorce, tells the stories of the bigamists, the bastards, the feminists, and the fornicators that helped give us the law of divorce that exists in England today.
For more information on Deborah's work, check out the details below:
Podcast (The Story of Divorce): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-story-of-divorce/id1586957709
Gov.uk link on No Fault Divorce: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/blame-game-ends-as-no-fault-divorce-comes-into-force
Check out Deborah's suggestions:
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
Kathryn Hughes: Victorians Undone: Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum
Hallie Rubenhold: The Five
Episode Credits:
Episode Writer, Editor and Producer: Emma Catan
Music: Burning Steaks (by Stationary Sign) - obtained via EpidemicSound
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