My dear readers,
When I originally envisioned Edward’s story, I knew it would be a challenge. First, I had to ensure that readers didn’t fall in love with Albert before I did him in, and I didn’t want him to be a nasty sort of fellow. I also knew that British law at the time prohibited a man from marrying his brother’s widow.
But I also couldn’t envision that the imagination of a romance writer was the only place where a man might want to marry his brother’s wife. So I began doing some research. It was fascinating. I found an instance where a woman was imprisoned for marrying her deceased sister’s husband. Not sure why the man got off scot-free, but there you are. I discovered some people married in parishes where they weren’t known and didn’t reveal how they were related, meaning they had the documents to show they were married but in truth they weren’t legally wed. It took only someone objecting in order to void the marriage. And I discovered that the well-to-do would travel to and marry in Switzerland or Norway, where the laws were more lenient regarding whom one could marry, but it was costly, so those who could take advantage of this opportunity were few.
For sixty-five years members of Parliament battled to change the law. Finally, in 1907, the Deceased Wife’s Sister’s Marriage Bill was passed to allow the sister of a deceased woman to marry her brother-in-law. But it wasn’t until 1921 that the Deceased Brother’s Widow’s Marriage Bill allowed a man to marry his deceased brother’s widow. I like to think that Edward and Julia were still around and saw that law take effect.
To be quite honest, I’m not sure if their son would have been allowed to inherit, since they skirted the boundaries of the law by marrying elsewhere, but I write fiction, so I hope you’ll indulge me in my belief that he would have become the next Earl of Greyling. Regardless, Edward and Julia wished only for their children to be granted healthy, long, and happy lives. In that regard, I assure you that their wishes were realized.
Happy reading,
Lorraine