A Scandalous Woman

Caroline Norton was separated from a husband who beat her, only to be deprived of her children and her earnings. She was left alone with no rights. But she fought back, and, against all odds, she changed the face of British justice to give women the fundamental rights that they had been denied. In this biography, the author reveals how she influenced public opinion with her pen and political circles with her considerable charm to drive the Infant Custody Bill through Parliament in 1839, and then, in 1857, the first Divorce Act. Despite her campaigns she never really overcame the accusation by her ex-husband, George Norton, that she committed adultery with the Prime Minister Lord Melbourne. Caroline found herself in the midst of one of the biggest scandals of the 19th century. Yet despite her notoriety, it was her determination, her writing and her campaigns that helped to change public opinion and forced improvements in the domestic rights of married women in the 19th century.