Using a wide range of primary sources, this book provides a radical reassessment of eighteenth-century marriage law and practice.

Rebecca Probert is an Associate Professor at the University of Warwick, teaching family law and child law. She has published widely on both modern family law and its history.

1. Introduction; 2. The misunderstood contract per verba de praesenti; 3. The myths of 'informal' and 'common law' marriage; 4. The little-considered marriage practices of non-Anglicans; 5. The unacknowledged regularity of clandestine marriages; 6. The eventual passage and actual terms of the 1753 Act; 7. The unappreciated success of the 1753 Act; 8. The unexplored judicial interpretation of the Act; 9. The overlooked response of non-Anglicans; 10. Conclusion.