The Great Catastrophe of My Life

“Fascinating firsthand accounts of people’s lives, cutting across boundaries of gender, race, and class. . . . This is the book for those interested in the religious, social, and legal history of antebellum Virginia. Here is a clear explanation of legislative divorce in the Commonwealth, woven together with a description of religious culture, peppered with well-told stories about ordinary Virginians, their families, and their communities.” — Richmond Times-Dispatch

“A rare glimpse behind the curtain of Victorian propriety. . . . Admirable. . . . A model monograph. It ably frames and elucidates its subject [and] pushes its argument with refreshing modesty.” — Journal of Social History

“Buckley produces one of the most detailed views to date of antebellum southern families under stress.” — American Historical Review

“This is a book that both fills an important gap in our historical knowledge and provides evocative tales of human heartbreak that still resonate.” — William and Mary Quarterly

“Buckley has written a book in which there is something for almost everyone. Those interested in gender, religion, social structures and relationships, cultural values, racial issues, and political and economic considerations during the period from the American Revolution to the Civil War will find this book helpful. . . . Buckley has certainly illustrated the trauma associated with divorce as well as provided useful data and perspectives that ought to stimulate further contemplation and understanding of southern societies.” — H-South

“Expose[s] southern attitudes and practices involving a spectrum of issues from marriage and family life to gender relations, interracial sex, adultery, desertion, and domestic violence.” — American Catholic Studies Newsletter

“Buckley is an artful storyteller. . . . It is from well-written books such as this one that we will begin to grasp the cultural factors that made family law in the North and the South so different.” — Journal of American History

“This book not only delineates clearly the complex process by which Virginians sought to end their marriages legally, but it also brings our attention to a substantial body of previously ignored evidence that sheds light on the workings of southern households. . . . Offers richly detailed narratives of the intimate lives of Virginians and makes for compelling reading.” — Virginia Magazine of History and Biography

“Will have obvious appeal to specialists, complementing the studies of law, marriage and gender. . . . General readers and undergraduates will find this a useful introduction into early nineteenth-century history.” — American Catholic Studies

“The Great Catastrophe of My Life is a superb state study that enriches enormously our understanding not only of the texture of married life and divorce among white Virginians, but also of their interactions with and influence upon state policy. . . . Buckley [has a] talent for capturing . . . legal history in local communities.” — Law and History Review