{"product_id":"man-and-wife-9791043135330","title":"Man and Wife","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Wilkie Collins\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Les Prairies Numeriques\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Les Prairies Numeriques\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Ancient, Classical \u0026amp; Medieval\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMan\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eWife\u003c\/strong\u003e is the ninth novel by Wilkie \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCollins\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, and was published in serial form in \u003cstrong\u003e1870\u003c\/strong\u003e. Like many of his other novels it has a complex plot and tackles social issues, in this case the then-lax state of the marriage laws, particularly in Scotland and Ireland. As always, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCollins\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e deals carefully but frankly with human personal behavior. To avoid offending Victorian morals too greatly, much is implied rather than stated outright. Nevertheless, even dealing with such matters at all led to his novels being derided as \"sensation fiction\" by his critics. By today's standards, of course, they wouldn't even raise an eyebrow.\u003cstrong\u003eIn \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMan\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eWife\u003c\/strong\u003e, the main character \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnne\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e Silvester\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e has fallen pregnant to a muscular and handsome, but boorish man, \u003cstrong\u003eGeoffrey Delamayn\u003c\/strong\u003e, to whom she is not married. She is working as a governess at a house in Scotland. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnne\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e arranges to meet Delamayn secretly at a garden party and angrily demands that he fulfill his promise to marry her, that very day. He very reluctantly agrees to a secret, private marriage, knowing that a public marriage would badly affect his inheritance prospects. How is the marriage to be arranged quickly but kept quiet? \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnne\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e has a plan based on her understanding of the looseness of the marriage laws in Scotland. Naturally, of course, things go badly wrong with this plan and many complexities arise.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCollins\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is deeply critical of the state of contemporary marriage laws, both in how loosely they were framed, and in how little power over their own lives they gave to women once they were married, even if married to a brutal man. He also uses this novel to denounce the worship of sporting heroes and the obsession with physical prowess rather than mental superiority as a primary indication of male virtue.Though not as popular as his novels \u003cstrong\u003eThe Woman\u003c\/strong\u003e in White and The Moonstone, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMan\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eWife\u003c\/strong\u003e received a good critical reception when it was released and was a commercial success.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Les Prairies Numeriques","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47776373211287,"sku":"9791043135330","price":4261.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9791043135330.webp?v=1777995861","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/man-and-wife-9791043135330","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}