Respectability, Bankruptcy and Bigamy in Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth-Century Britain explores the vexed question of middle-class respectability in Victorian and Edwardian Britain.

John Benson is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Wolverhampton. He has written widely on modern British history, has held visiting positions in Canada and Japan, and has spoken on his work in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States of America.

Introduction

1. A Secure Upbringing

2. A City Partnership

3. A Good Marriage

Part II: Respectability Unravelling

4. A Fading Career

5. A Failing Marriage

6. Family Feuds

Part III: Respectability Unravelled

7. Bankruptcy

8. Bigamy

9. Belligerence

Aftermath

Conclusions