Marriage, a History cover art

Marriage, a History

How Love Conquered Marriage

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Marriage, a History

By: Stephanie Coontz
Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu
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About this listen

Just when the clamor over "traditional" marriage couldn't get any louder, along comes this groundbreaking book to ask, "What tradition?"

In Marriage, a History, historian and marriage expert Stephanie Coontz takes listeners from the marital intrigues of ancient Babylon to the torments of Victorian lovers to demonstrate how recent the idea of marrying for love is - and how absurd it would have seemed to most of our ancestors. It was when marriage moved into the emotional sphere in the 19th century, she argues, that it suffered as an institution just as it began to thrive as a personal relationship. This enlightening and hugely entertaining book brings intelligence, perspective, and wit to today's marital debate.

©2005 SJ Coontz Company (P)2016 Tantor Gender Studies Social Sciences Sociology World Marriage Imperialism Social Policy Ancient History

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All stars
Most relevant  
Very enjoyable whistle stop tour of marriage through the ages. Definitely recommend but be prepared to concentrate carefully because the information is very dense.

Detailed history of marriage in the Western world

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I am glad I made it from start to finish reading this book. It has made a huge difference on my study and perspective on marriage.

Very Detailed

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This book was so interesting from start to finish. Every chapter, from the ancient world to the 21st century, was riveting. I had no idea how much and how frequently our ideals of marriage change and continue to change. It has really made me feel differently about marriage as a whole, but on a much more positive level than I expected. It is fascinating how much marriage affects our society, and vice versa.
TIP: Listen to it a x1.5 to stop the narration from dragging a bit.

Brilliant!

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I had struggled to find a history of marriage ,so was pleased to listen to this well researched book. The initial sections were the more interesting to me, as I felt the author narrowed her focus to more western societies in the more recent centuries. I would be fascinated to see a second edition, as it's date of publication from 2005 did hamper its current relevance to a degree.

interesting

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I have enjoyed listening to this book and have learnt a fair bit. My only quibble would be the narrators inability to pronounce some of the names of the quoted sources. Most notably, the surname of Samuel Pepys. It should be pronounced 'peeps', but the narrator kept saying 'pep-ees'. A minor thing, but both amuzing and irritating in equal measure every time she said it.
But if you have an interest in the history of marriage like me, and unlike me are not a pedant, you will likely enjoy this book.

Well researched and interesting book

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I found the information more in depth and interesting than I expected.
It does jump around a bit from age to age and country to country, but there is a lot of information about society, life expectations, relationships, religion, psychology, Laws, economics relating to relationships, family life and sexuality dating back centuries.

This was published in 2005 and some countries have changed their Laws relating to marriage and partnerships since the original publication.

I would have preferred a voice with a bit more variation on tone but if you can get past that and listen over several sittings, it's well worth it.

Fascinating

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As a divorcee this book was fascinating! Learning about how marriage could be a joy and why it's hard to maintain a happy modern marriage.

Amazing

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