1827
by Trial; Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, Defendant
1827. London, 1827. London, 1827. Contemporary Account of a Famous English Case of Forced Marriage [Trial]. Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, Defendant. Wakefield, William, Defendant. Wakefield, Frances, Mrs., Defendant. The Trial of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, William Wakefield, And Frances Wakefield: Indicted with One Edward Thevenot, A Servant, For a Conspiracy and For the Abduction of Miss Ellen Turner, The Only Child and Heiress of William Turner, Esq. of Shrigley Park in the County of Chester. London: John Murray, 1827. xv, 303 pp. Interleaved with de-acidifying paper. Octavo (7-1/2" x 4-1/4"). Recent library buckram, white-stamped title, shelf number and library name to spine. Text notably fresh, some browning to final leaf and title page, which has library marks and stamps. $300. * Only edition. The first account of the Shrigley Abduction, an 1826 British case of forced marriage by Edward Gibbon Wakefield to the 15-year-old heiress Ellen Turner. The couple was married in Scotland and travelled to France before Turner's father was able to notify the authorities and intervene. The marriage was annulled by Parliament. Wakefield and his brother, William, were convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. Catalogue of the Library of the Harvard Law School (1909) II:1217.
(Inventory #: 68459)