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Author Frost, Ginger Suzanne, 1962-

Title Illegitimacy in English law and society, 1860-1930 / Ginger S. Frost
Published Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2016

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Description 1 online resource
Contents Cover; Half-title; Title page; Copyright information; Table of contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Notes; 1 'Strangers in the blood': custody, inheritance, and taxation; Legitimacy declaration suits; Estates and wills; Estates of illegitimates; Custody and guardianship; Including illegitimate children: the twentieth century; Conclusion; Notes; 2 'The workhouse or death': maternal crimes and illegitimacy; Background and statistics; Secrecy and shame; Provision and poverty; Crime and punishment; Insanity defences; Victim or perpetrator?; Conclusion; Notes
3 Part of the family? Non-maternal carers in the criminal courtsIllegitimacy and fatherhood in the court; Poverty; Secrecy; Fragile patriarchs; Irregular and blended families; Fictive kin: nurses, foster parents, adoption; Criminal baby farming; Middle-class crimes; Conclusion; Notes; 4 Courts of last resort: affiliation and the poor law; Affiliation cases; Private agreements; Illegitimacy and the poor law; Finding fathers; Extending the family; Fostering, adoption, and extended kin; Guardians v. family; Conclusion; Notes; 5 Simple acts of justice: illegitimacy and law reform; Bastardy laws
Legitimation billsAftermath of the Legitimacy Act; Conclusion; Notes; 6 Love and loss: family and illegitimacy; Cohabiting families; Class and cohabitation; Living with maternal kin; Instabilities; Mothers and stepfathers; Living with illegitimacy; Conclusion; Notes; 7 'Passed from hand to hand': child circulation; Movement between kin; Fostering; Adoption; Results; Mothers and children: reclaiming the lost?; Conclusion; Notes; 8 'Bad blood'? Social discrimination; 'Bastard' children; Poverty; Names and identities; The 'blank space'; School stories; Finding employment; Marriage and family
ConclusionNotes; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Primary sources; Manuscript collections; Other manuscript collections; Newspapers; Legal case books; Government documents; Articles and books; Secondary sources; Articles; Books; Theses, dissertations, and unpublished papers; Index
Summary This book explores the legal and social consequences of growing up illegitimate in England and Wales. Unlike most other studies of illegitimacy, Frost's book concentrates on the late-Victorian period and the early twentieth century, and takes the child's point of view rather than that of the mother or of 'child-saving' groups. Doing so allows for an extended analysis of criminal and civil cases involving illegitimacy, including less-studied aspects such as affiliation suits, the poor law and war pensions. In addition, the book explores the role of blended, extended and adoptive families, the circulation of children through different homes and institutions, and the prejudices children endured in school, work and home. While showing how the effects of illegitimacy varied both by class and gender, the book highlights the ways in which children showed resilience in surviving the various types of discrimination common in this period. It will appeal to anyone interested in British social history, childhood studies, or legal history
Analysis England
Victorian children
Wales
affiliation suits
bastardy laws
child circulation
child-saving groups
criminal courts
fostering
gender
illegitimacy
late-Victorian period
legitimacy
married parents
non-maternal defendants
poor law
social discrimination
unwanted children
war pensions
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Subject Illegitimate children -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- England -- History -- 19th century
Illegitimate children -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- England -- History -- 20th century
Illegitimate children -- England -- Social conditions -- 19th century
Illegitimate children -- England -- Social conditions -- 20th century
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Public Policy -- Cultural Policy.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Anthropology -- Cultural.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Popular Culture.
HISTORY -- Europe -- Ireland.
Illegitimate children -- Legal status, laws, etc.
Illegitimate children -- Social conditions
England
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 1784997447
9781784997441
9781784997885
1784997889