After publishing her memoir Every Morning, So Far, I’m Alive in 2019, Victorian-era literature academic Wendy Parkins has turned her hand to fiction based on a true story. Eighteen-year-old Frances Dickinson was a British heiress who married Australian-born Lieutenant John Geils in London in 1838. She quickly discovered that the idyllic marriage she envisaged was not going to eventuate and would go on to become the first woman to fight for a legal divorce.
The prelude opens the book in a very visceral way: “I seep, I leak, I cannot be contained.” It immediately grounds the reader in the intimate world of a woman in a desperate situation, before they’re taken back to a younger, more carefree, Frances who’s immersed in the literature of Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott.
Frances’ personal diary entries form the backbone of the book and are interspersed with perspectives from household staff, letters between mother and daughter, future in-laws and local clergy (among others), and snippets from court affidavits given during the divorce trial. The differing perspectives and time jumps help maintain a level of tension, as they give the reader insights into what’s happening and what’s going to happen that ‘present day’ Frances is not aware of.
It would’ve been helpful though if, each time a new voice was introduced (at least in the first part of the book), a single line in the entry’s heading included that person’s relationship to Frances (for example, Frances’ maid or Scottish maid). This would save the reader time in understanding how the new perspective is related to Frances’ story, especially when there are multiple very short entries in a row, meaning the point of view changes quickly. Once the full cast of characters is known, such a signpost wouldn’t be needed.
While the trial looms large throughout the book, the story really focuses on Frances’ experience of the marriage, including the relationships she relies on to cope with what she’s going through. As a modern reader, it can be easy to spot the coercive control mechanisms being used, such as her removal from familiar surroundings by sequestering her in Scotland, the gaslighting from in-laws about her health and her husband using her financial resources without consultation, and so on.
Still, in an overtly class-based system, it’s understandable that the first woman to file for divorce was someone of means; after all, how could the same household staff who could serve as credible, independent, third-party witnesses to how a domestic relationship unfolded behind closed doors afford to fight for their own legal rights?
Read: Book review: Audition, Katie Kitamura
Altogether, The Defiance of Frances Dickinson is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand ‘why didn’t she leave sooner’ and for demonstrating why advocacy for changes to domestic violence laws and support systems is as vital as ever, especially during a Federal Election campaign.
The Defiance of Frances Dickinson, Wendy Parkins
Publisher: Affirm Press
ISBN: 9781923135031
Pages: 400pp
RRP: $34.99
Publication date: 26 Nov 2024
