Man and Wife

Imagine as a woman losing all your property to your husband. Sadly, such was the law for much of the Victorian times. Wilkie Collins's novel "e;The Woman in White"e; (starring Charles Dance in a recent BBC adaptation) first explored this absurdity. Now expanding on marriage law, Collins writes a protest for women's rights in "e;Man and Wife"e;. Two young women, Anne and Blanche, live together in Scotland after Anne's father abandoned her due to a legal loophole. Both women are engaged but Anne's fiance, Geoffrey, is getting cold feet. Yet Anne knows a trick from the Scottish law books: if a man is witnessed to verbally declare a woman his wife, they are legally married.Meanwhile, Blanche's fiance, Arnold, is sent on Geoffrey's behalf to meet Anne. Under guise, Arnold publicly asks for his "e;wife"e;, and accidentally potentially marries Anne. A fascinating tale of a wife's rights, this thriller will make you question the true impact of a marriage proposal.-