I think I've read enough books about marriage now! This is a primarily very informative book about the history of marriage and hits on aspects of proposal/wedding/marriage and how they've developed over the centuries mainly in the West, briefly touching on other cultures too. I thought it was interesting and appreciated the inclusivity in the book for LGBT+ people - the author is a queer woman and she mentions the fact trans people can't legally marry under their gender, and non-binary people don't have their gender legally recognised at all. Of the topics it did cover they were quite comprehensive and included a lot of facts I hadn't known before, and they were delivered in an engaging way.

That being said - I've read more insightful and reflective books about marriage as an institution and also thought this book failed in some ways to be an all-encompassing history. It failed to mention the affect marriage can have on disabled people (removal of benefits due to combining of household income, essentially freezing disabled people on benefits out of the institution), and also the entire topic of divorce. Considering a significant proportion of marriages end in divorce this seems like an oversight, especially considering the financial implications which often keep people trapped in marriages unable to afford divorce. I also personally didn't really think she sold the aspect of marriage as an institution being one worth fighting for - though I came into this book with my own biases. If you want a history of certain aspects of marriage this is a good read, for anything more reflective I'd recommend something different.

This was a very interesting book about the history of marriage across most of the world, giving various examples ranging from Ancient Greece and Rome to present times. The book explores societal expectations and pressure on women to marry, queer marriages (including queer people entering heterosexual marriages throughout history for protection), ages of consent, arranged marriages and much more.

I was familiar with most of the information here already, but it was nice to have everything organized and the author also provides numbers and statistics to back up the research. The writing is accessible and straight to the point, so everyone will be able to read it quickly and understand what the author is presenting.

I would recommend this book. I found it on NetGalley and fortunately was able to read it because it didn't require going through an approval process (very grareful for this).

3.5 stars

Wedded Wife was a pretty easy and quick read. That’s usually the case when you are on the same page as the author. Right from the Introduction I could tell that Lennon Gets It™, evident through the focus on a broad range of people and cultures (rather than the typical cishet white Christian woman perspective that is usually centered).
I’ve been thinking a lot lately of marriage as the result of social obligation, and this gives me a bit of backing for my theories and thoughts. The author touches on certain obvious aspects of marriage: gender binaries (the enforcing of), necessity & motivations for marriage, power roles in the ‘typical’ marriage.
Understanding that this is shorter text, I still think that Lennon could’ve gotten a little deeper into the topics she brought up. For example, my interest was piqued on discussion of monogamy/ethical non monogamy and would’ve enjoyed a deeper dive.
Overall, an informative read that can lead to further discussion surrounding the institution of marriage. I’ll probably share this with my sister (who is in a pretty typical cishet marriage) and see how it impacts her perspective on too.

A comprehensive overview of the history of marriage and the role of weddings and married life in the cultural consciousness from a distinctly feminist perspective. I appreciate that the author takes the effort to touch on different cultures and time periods, rather than solely focusing on the experiences of the European woman from a specific time frame. This gives the book a more interesting and diverse perspective. However, I do wish that the author had taken the time to delve more deeply into certain anecdotes or observations and given a more nuanced analysis of specific topics, rather than trying to cover too broad a spectrum of ideas.

I’ve been married for almost twenty years and this title jumped out at me! Many of my friends have discussed how we got here and how difficult marriage can be. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I found the book concept interesting and it was very helpful to me. The information was well researched and the personal accounts were my favorite part.