Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace

Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady (2012) by Kate Summerscale. In the middle 1800s, an unhappily married lady named Isabella  Robinson kept a diary of her secret loves and longings. In a quirk of the law of Victorian England, it was ruled that the diary was her husband's property, to do with as he would. When he read it he was outraged to learn that his wife was in love with another man, and he sued for divorce. This book tells, in great detail, of the circumstances surrounding this divorce trial and of the queer practices which the Victorians followed regarding women's rights in the court of law. It is a very interesting book on the one hand, for what it reveals, but it makes for rather dull reading for the manner in which it is written. Thus I can't give it my unbridled approval. I was not sorry I read it, but the actual reading gave me little pleasure. Grade: B