Publisher's Synopsis
Often cited as Collins's first didactic work, Man and Wife attacks both Irish and Scottish marriage laws as well as arguing the case for a Married Woman's Property Act. The book also campaigns against the cult of athleticism, as leading to moral and physical corruption, personified in the villain, Geoffrey Delamayn. Contemporary reviewers generally praised the excitement and cleverness of the plot but did not appreciate Collins's higher motives. The Saturday Review (9 July 1870) considered 'If one moral is generally too much, two morals are surely unjustifiable. Mr Collins might be content with assaulting running and boat-racing without breaking a lance at the same moment against all our marriage laws'.
