Observations on the natural claim of the mother to the custody of her infant children…
British Custody Laws Under Fire
Norton, Caroline. Observations on the Natural Claim of the Mother to the Custody of Her Infant Children as Affected by the Common Law of the Father. London: James Ridgway and Sons, 1837.
8vo.; late 19th-century binding; half morocco, marbled boards; spine stamped in gilt. In a specially made cloth slipcase.
First edition of Norton’s opening shot at British custody laws, which, when she was through, would be changed to favor a child’s mother.
Born into a struggling bourgeois family in London in 1808, Caroline Norton spent her life relying on her intelligence and determination to get ahead in society. Her grandfather was Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the English dramatist who wrote School for Scandal, but died penniless; her father, the poet Thomas Sheridan, died when she was eight, leaving her mother with six children to raise. The Sheridan daughters’ only hope – a de rigeur early 19th-century practice immortalized by Jane Austen – was to marry well. At the age of nineteen, in an almost prophetic foresight of her marital disasters, Caroline reluctantly accepted the proposal of barrister George Norton, the brother of Lord Grantley. Caroline’s dreams of financial stability through marriage were elusive; George’s pride prevented him from taking jobs that he felt were beneath him. Ironically, the misfortune of her union was the impetus for her writing which she took up as an amusement and an escape from her husband, and also as a way to support her growing family. By the early 1830’s the Nortons had three sons (a fourth child was miscarried after George had severely beaten Caroline, a common occurrence during her marriage). In 1829, her first poem, The Sorrows of Rosalie, was published, followed by The Undying One, in 1830.
Through her burgeoning literary reputation she made the acquaintance of Lord Melbourne, who was, at the outset of their relationship, an indispensable friend and ally. (Later, after the death of Caroline’s husband and Lord Melbourne’s wife, the pair were happily, albeit briefly, married.) Thanks to Lord Melbourne’s influence – and Caroline’s utilization of their friendship – George Norton obtained a position in the government. Complications swiftly arose, however, as a result of their triangular relationship. George accused Caroline of adultery and took her and Lord Melbourne to court. Although the case ended in acquittal, Caroline’s reputation in society plummeted and the rift between her and George widened.
George exploited his absolute power as husband and father, denying Caroline access to her sons. Caroline turned to her skills as a writer and to her high ranking friends and, in 1837, published Observations on the Natural Claim of the Mother to the Custody of Her Infant Children as Affected by the Common Law of the Father, which followed on the heels of her own legal battle and spurred the creation of the Infant Custody Bill.
Her efforts proved successful. In 1838 a bill was passed which allowed women custody of their children under age seven, and access to their children under age sixteen. Unfortunately, George found a loophole in the language of the law and took the children to Scotland, which was not bound by the same edicts. Determined to get her children back, Caroline kept writing and laboring to get the laws changed. What started as a personal crusade against a tyrannical, abusive husband ended up emending British custody laws. Although she did not consider herself a feminist and professed her feelings that men and women were not equals, her actions belied such statements. She turned a nightmarish marriage and custody ordeal into something that would, ultimately, benefit generations of women to come.
(www.digital.library.upenn.edu/norton/nc-biography.html; BDBF)
(#5427)
Print Inquire