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War has always had a disruptive effect on family life. In England and Wales, the impact of the two world wars can be seen in the statistics on bigamy and divorce. The First World War saw a dramatic rise in prosecutions for bigamy in England and Wales, as well as more divorces being granted than ever before. A similar rise in prosecutions for bigamy occurred during the Second World War, although this time the number of divorces far outstripped them.
In this talk, Professor Rebecca Probert draws on data amassed from thousands of cases to examine the reasons underpinning these increases, including the changes in divorce law that occurred between the wars.
Rebecca Probert is Professor of Law at the University of Exeter. Her research focuses on the law and history of marriage, bigamy, divorce and cohabitation and she is the author of numerous articles and books, including Marriage Law for Genealogists (2012) and Divorced, Bigamist, Bereaved? (2015). She has appeared numerous times on TV and radio, including Harlots, Heroines and Housewives, A House Through Time and Who Do You Think You Are? Her latest books are Double Trouble: Bigamy and the Law in England and Wales, 1604-2024 (2026) and Double Lives: Stories of Bigamy in England and Wales, 1604-2024 (2026).
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