The Unfortunate Business of Wife Selling

During the 18th and 19th century, women had very few rights in England. Women were not allowed to vote, attend universities and were considered their husband's property.  

The vile practice of wife selling, while not common, but not unheard of either, occurred most often in the more humble classes. Sadly, magistrates did not believe they had a right to prevent wife sales, especially since the Poor Law Commissioners were known to force husbands to sell their wives, rather than maintain them at the workhouse. 

The newspapers mention this happening at a rate of about once a year.


The following is excerpted from Popular Pastimes, Being A Selection Of Picturesque Representations Of The Customs & Amusements Of Great Britain published in 1816:

AMONG the customs unknown to the law in this country, though by the illiterate and vulgar supposed to be of legal validity and assurance, is that of SELLING a WIFE, like a brute animal, in a common market-place. At what period this practice had origin we have not discovered, but it has unquestionably been in existence for a long series of years; and many instances might be given of the extensive spread of this licentious custom in more modern times. From newspapers of different dates, now before us, the three following cases are selected, in order to shew that the metropolis does not alone participate in the disgrace which springs from the legislative tolerance of this irreligious and indecent custom ; but that other parts of England are equally involved in the shame of such a scandalous profligacy. It merits, indeed, the greater reprehension, from the foul stigma which it fixes on our national character; and though the magistracy may not, at present, be armed with sufficient powers to put a stop to a practice so highly censurable (though we doubt the assumption ; for whatever is contrary to good morals, is assuredly amenable to the law) ; the Parliament should immediately interfere, and prevent its longer continuance by the infliction of punishment.

Under the date of June the 12th, 1797, we read thus : ‘“ At the close of Smithfield-market on Monday, a man who keeps a public house in the neighbourhood of Lisson-green, brought his Wife, to whom he had been married about two months, for sale into the market; where having by means of a rope, made her fast to the railing opposite St. Bartholemew’s coffee-house, she was exposed to the view of hundreds of spectators for near a quarter of an hour, and at length sold, for half a guinea, to a dealer in flowers, at Paddington. He is to receive with the woman, from her original owner, twenty pounds in bad halfpence.” The second instance was on the 11th of March, 1808, when “ a private individual led his Wife to Sheffield market, by a cord tied round her waist, and publicly announced that he wanted to sell his cow. On this occasion, a butcher who officiated as auctioneer, and knocked down the lot for a guinea, declared that he had not brought a cow to a better market for many years.” The last of the three instances occurred on  the 27th of March, 1808, when “ a man publicly sold his Wife to a fisherman, in the market at Brighton, for twenty shillings and a blunderbuss.”

(Just in case you were wondering, a blunderbuss is a short-barreled large-bored gun with a flared muzzle, used at short range.)

Odette Samson... A real spy during WWII

My Regency Spy Romances feature characters, both men and women, that are agents of the Crown and who are fiercely loyal to their King and Country.

Sadly, my characters are fictional, but I would like to highlight a real female spy during WWI. Her name was Mrs. Odette Samson. She was recruited by the Special Operative Executives (SOE), which had been established to conduct missions of intelligence, espionage and sabotage throughout Western Europe.

Sansom was a devoted wife and mother who had initially resisted the recruitment efforts due to her children, especially since her husband was already deployed and fighting in the war. However, her duty to her country finally won out and she agreed to attend the training. During training, she excelled at unarmed combat, weapons handling, Morse code and the art of sabotage.

Leaving her three kids with the nuns of St. Helen's convent school was exceptionally difficult, but she soon was deployed and joined the few other female spies in the Allied operation. In France, she was put to work as a bicycle courier, carrying messages from her spy cell to other resistance member and also conveyed her cell’s intelligence reports to an agent who flew them back to SOE headquarters in London. Furthermore, she worked as a radio operator, which was a very dangerous but important job. 

In 1943, Sansom was betrayed by a German officer posing as an SOE agent. She was taken to the notorious Fresnes Prison, where Gestapo officers tortured her relentlessly. Still, she gave up no information and helped save the life of her commanding officer by denying his involvement.

When she was sentenced to death on two counts of espionage, Sansom replied, “You will have to make up your mind on which count I am to be executed because I can only die once!”

She was sent to Ravensbrück women’s concentration camp north of Berlin, but managed to survive the harsh ordeal.

In 1946, Sansom became the first woman to receive the George Cross for gallantry, Britain’s highest nonmilitary award. 

Fun Facts about Napoleon

For anyone that has read my books, it should come as no surprise that my characters were not fans of the French. This was mostly due to the Napoleonic Wars.

Napoleon was the French Emperor from 1804 until 1814, and again briefly during 1815. He was known to be domineering to the world but had a tender spot for his wives and mistresses. 

I have collected six lesser known facts about Napoleon that I thought you might enjoy. Two funny facts about the French Emperor are thrown into To Love a Spy, but you will have to read my book to discover those.  

Fun Facts:

1. Napoléon's Army discovered the Rosetta Stone.

2. He would often dress in poor clothes and walk the streets of Paris asking people questions. This way he could judge how popular he was.

3. It was Napoléon's army that first used canned foods

4. Napoléon allegedly wore a packet of poison on a cord around his neck. When he finally went to use it in 1814 it had lost its potency and only succeeded in making him violently ill

5. Attempts to rescue Napoléon from St. Helena included an elaborate submarine plan.

6. Beethoven originally planned to dedicate his Third Symphony to Napoléon. 

What was marriage like for a woman back in the Regency period?

Sadly, women in the Regency period had few individual rights and everything a woman brought into the marriage became the possession of her husband.

Which is why it was imperative for her family, or the woman herself, to negotiate for her financial future, binding it in the legal settlement. What happened to her and her children depended upon this.

Unfortunately, courtship was not very enjoyable because of these legalities. The first step of the courtship was to create a settlement contract. 

Items that were typically included in a settlement contract:

• Dowry – Daughters of wealthy families had a specific dowry amount set aside for them. This may include a portion of the dowry her mother brought to the marriage. The dowry was an amount well known, such financial matters expected to play a role in why a woman was chosen as a wife.
• Pin Money – An annual allowance allotted to the wife for her personal needs during her husband’s lifetime.
• Children – Some settlements detailed specific provisions for future children, such as a base dowry amount for any daughters or a monetary inheritance for sons beside the heir.
• Death – Details were specified for after the husband’s death, this called the “jointure.” This may include where the wife could live, if any properties were to be given to her or made available, the jewels she could keep, an annual allowance, provisions for minor children, and so on.

If an engaged person terminated the agreement before the marriage, he/she could face legal action in a “breach of promise” suit.

Nothing says romance like a settlement contract!

Look what I made!!