Bigamy and Cohabitation in Victorian England

Abstract

This article, based on 221 bigamy cases between 1830 and 1900, argues that many couples, particularly in the working class, entered bigamous unions throughout the nineteenth century. Most communities accepted these unions if they followed certain norms. The bigamist had to have a good reason to have left his or her spouse, had to have been honest with the second spouse, and had to be able to support multiple families. Within these parameters, neighbors and friends ac cepted illegal marriages, following in a long tradition of self-marriage and self-divorce. In fact, by the end of the century, judges followed community standards in their sentencing and often gave nominal punishment to both male and female bigamists. In the 1880s and 1890s, law enforcement officials were leery of bringing bigamy charges because pressure from below had so compromised prosecutions.