Wedded Wife, Ms. Rachael Lennon
Wedded Wife, Ms. Rachael Lennon
List: $28.99 | Sale: $20.29
Club: $14.49

Wedded Wife
a feminist history of marriage

Author: Ms. Rachael Lennon

Narrator: Freya Parker

Unabridged: 7 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Aurum

Published: 04/18/2023


Synopsis

In this fascinating and insightful book, feminist curator Rachael Lennon provides an intimate and intersectional examination of the history of marriage around the world.

In this fascinating feminist history, Rachael Lennon tells a remarkable story of how this institution has developed from the ancient customs of the stone age through to the modern form it takes today.

In this eminently readable and relatable study, Lennon also explores themes such as the pressure to marry, the politics surrounding proposals, the spectacle of marriage, the business behind it, and the politics tied to consummation as well as issues such as taking a man’s name, the nuances of marriage vows and obedience, ‘having it all’ and trying to keep up the fight to have an enduring marriage.

Having married her wife just a few years after the legalisation of same sex marriage in the United Kingdom, Lennon interweaves her own personal experiences of marriage with stories and anecdotes from throughout history to explore how marriage has transformed over the years.

In shaking off patriarchal expectations, Rachael examines marriage’s troubling past and celebrates a more joyful present, celebrating the feminist activists who have fought to make marriage a pure and equitable celebration of love, open to everyone regardless of gender or sexuality.

She also asks what compels us to keep making this choice? Can we let go of the gendered baggage that we have inherited? Can we hold true to feminist values as we commit to our partners? And what does that look like? How can we build on the past to continue to redefine marriage for the future?

Reviews

Goodreads review by Stephen

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for a free copy in return for an open and honest review. This is an interesting feminist critique of marriage which examines history of marriage and it being male centric and a different viewpoint of view of what marriage could mean now in the early 21st century......more

Goodreads review by Emily

This was super interesting and enjoyable & made me re-examine why I want to do certain things when I get married......more

This book is very in-depth and well researched. Given the history of patriarchal legacies of wedding practices where women are the ones who suffer most, WHY DO MOST PEOPLE STILL HAVE WEDDINGS AS A MILESTONE IN LIFE? The author takes the reader through the evolution of weddings, from the living room......more