Caroline Sheridan Norton’s left an abusive marriage in 1835. She then turned her skill as a writer into a lobby for legislation that would enable mothers in England to get custody of their young children.
Research:
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Oliphant, Margaret, et al. “Women Novelists of Queen Victoria's Reign - A Book of Appreciations.” Ballantyne. 1897. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/36641/pg36641.txt
Norton, Caroline. “A LETTER TO THE QUEEN ON LORD CHANCELLOR CRANWORTH'S MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE BILL.” Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. London. 1855. Accessed oline: https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/norton/alttq/alttq.html
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Holmes, Ann Sumner. “The Double Standard in the English Divorce Laws, 1857–1923.” Law & Social Inquiry, vol. 20, no. 2, 1995, pp. 601–620., doi:10.1111/j.1747-4469.1995.tb01071.x.
Langley, Samuel. “The Laureateship.” Daily News. May 15, 1850. https://www.newspapers.com/image/390815598/?terms=%22Caroline%20Norton%22&match=1
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Norton, Caroline Sheridan. “A Plain Letter to the Lord Chancellor on the Infant Custody Bill.” London. 1839. Accessed online through Indiana University: https://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/vwwp/view?docId=VAB7126&chunk.id=d1e495&toc.id=&brand=vwwp;query=#docView
Tomalin, Claire. “Several Strangers: Writing from Three Decades.” Viking. 1999.
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Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Caroline Norton". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Jun. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Caroline-Norton
Norton, C.N. “ENGLISH LAWS FOR WOMEN IN The Nineteenth Century.” London. 1854. Accessed online through University of Pennsylvania: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/norton/elfw/elfw.html