{"title":"Books by Professor Rebecca Probert","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781509979486","title":"Double Lives","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis book explores the fascinating backstories and unexpected sequels of bigamous marriages from the 17th century to the present day.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA woman remarries after hearing that her husband has drowned, only for him to turn up alive and well. Is she now a criminal? A deserted husband, unable to afford a divorce, finds happiness in a new union. How many did the same? A conman advertises for a wife and then disappears with her lifesavings; he has already done the same to many other women. How was he brought to justice?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese are just a few of the hundreds of bigamous remarriages put under the microscope in Double Lives. As a companion volume to \u003ci\u003eDouble Trouble: Bigamy and the Law in England and Wales, 1604–2024,\u003c\/i\u003e this book goes behind the law reports to reconstruct the stories of those involved. Drawing on archival sources, pamphlets, newspapers, census data, parish registers, divorce petitions and family histories, it shows the different forms that bigamy might take – accidental, consensual, deceptive or exploitative – and how bigamists’ stories in turn helped to shape the law.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDouble Lives \u003c\/i\u003eshows how bigamy should not be dismissed as a comical or victimless crime. Every case had its own complex mix of desire and deception, and, all too often, heartbreak for someone.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":56420588224885,"sku":"9781509979486","price":95.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57682872140149,"sku":"9781509979516","price":49.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781509979486_e5c54182-b251-4700-84fa-1db72aa7fbdd.jpg?v=1792511703"},{"product_id":"double-trouble-1","title":"Double Trouble","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis book provides the first in-depth study of the crime of bigamy from the 17th century to the present day.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBetween 1604 and 2024, around 30,000 individuals were prosecuted for bigamy in England and Wales. A few were able to establish a defence to the charge, but most were convicted. How they were punished varied hugely across the centuries – from execution, branding, whipping, transportation, and imprisonment through to fines and community service.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDouble Trouble \u003c\/i\u003edetails the legal framework that underpinned such prosecutions. As a companion volume to \u003ci\u003eDouble Lives: Stories of Bigamy in England and Wales, 1604–2024\u003c\/i\u003e, it sets the offence in the context of the changing laws on marriage and divorce, and examines the consequences of bigamy for those involved, including the remedies that were available to the often-deceived second spouse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on a wide array of sources from the 17th century to the present day, including formal law reports, legal treatises, newspapers, censuses, parish registers, divorce petitions and Parliamentary debates, this book shows how bigamy should be taken seriously as an offence that all too often involved deception, abandonment and heartbreak.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57555373425013,"sku":"9781509979424","price":44.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781509979424.jpg?v=1788791319"},{"product_id":"legally-agatha","title":"Legally Agatha","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLegally Agatha \u003c\/i\u003eis the first ever examination of Christie’s work through a legal lens, uncovering clues that have previously been overlooked.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChristie is revealed as an astute observer of the law, carefully crafting plots to reflect new laws, the latest court cases, and debates in Parliament and wider society.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHer characters, we discover, frequently mirrored real legal stories of the day. Their choices hinged on subtle distinctions that even lawyers failed to spot.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChristie often seeded clues in off-hand comments, hinted at legal themes that explain people’s motives, and even cleverly pointed toward the identity of murderers and their victims.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom marriage and divorce, through wills, succession, and intestacy, through to adoption, child custody, wardship, and many more, every area of law changed during Christie’s long career. How her writing reflected those changes has never been appreciated until now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLegally Agatha \u003c\/i\u003eis designed to be read, enjoyed, and understood by anyone who is keen to delve more deeply into Christie’s work. Even ardent fans who believe they know everything there is to know about her work will come away with new insights into Agatha’s legal intelligence. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRebecca Probert and Joanna Miles are both Christie fans and senior legal scholars who have researched and published extensively on contemporary and historical family law and policy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57679984492917,"sku":"9781048002409","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":57682834850165,"sku":"9781048002416","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-professor-rebecca-probert.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}