Informal Marriage: Cohabitation and the Law, 1750-1989

By the same author as "Cohabitees", this book traces the boundaries of legal marriage since the Industrial Revolution, from informal marriage practices to modern cohabitation.

It shows the laws reaction to this, and the changes in the law are placed in their economic, political and social contexts.

The author suggests that many of the changes are the product of class and gender conflict, rather than neutral responses to new family practice.