Fifty Years of the Divorce Reform Act 1969

Joanna Miles is Professor of Family Law and Policy, University of Cambridge., UK.Daniel Monk is Professor of Law, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK.Rebecca Probert is Professor of Law at University of Exeter, UK.

• Foreword Lady Hale, former President of the Supreme Court of the United KingdomPART ONEINTRODUCTION1. ‘Irretrievably Broken’? Introducing the Life-Story of the Divorce Reform Act 1969 Joanna Miles, University of Cambridge, UK, Daniel Monk, Birkbeck, University of London, UK, and Rebecca Probert, University of Exeter, UK2. Divorces by Fact Proven Over the Past Half Century in England and Wales: Th e Historical Context, Statistical Trends and Future Prospects John Haskey, University of Oxford, UKPART TWOBACKGROUND3. Dynamic Impasse: Divorce and British Film in the Mid-Twentieth Century James Brown, Birkbeck, University of London, UK4. Feminism, Property and Divorce Law Reform in the 1960s Rosemary Auchmuty, University of Reading, UK5. Putting Asunder – Reappraised Rosie Sinclair, University of Chester, UK6. Behind Casanova’s Charter: Edith Summerskill, Divorce and the Deserted WifeSharon Thompson, Cardiff University, UKPART THREETELLING STORIES ABOUT DIVORCE AND MARRIAGE7. Divorced from Reality? Literary Depictions of the Legal Process for Ending a Marriage, 1971–2021 Rebecca Probert, University of Exeter, UK8. Judging Matrimonial BehaviourJoanna Miles, University of Cambridge, UK9. Telling Tales? Establishing Irretrievable Breakdown under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 Liz Trinder, University of Exeter, UK10. Royal Divorces and the Remaking of Marriage and Monarchy Daniel Monk, Birkbeck, University of London, UKPART FOURCONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES11. Divorced from Human Rights? English Divorce Law under Human Rights Scrutiny Carmen Draghici, City, University of London, UK12. British Muslim Communities, Islamic Divorce and English Family Law Samia Bano, SOAS, University of London, UK13. Dissolution, Divorce and Changing Practices of Commitment Brian Heaphy, University of Manchester, UK, and James Hodgson, University of Manchester, UKAfterword John Eekelaar, University of Oxford, UK