Fond Hopes Destroyed

Fond Hopes Destroyed draws on the rich records in the Shetland Archives to describe the broken relationships which landed couples in court in breach of promise cases. Sailors’ letters to their sweethearts written from all around the world were particularly incriminating, and often caused amusement when read there. Ribaldry and heartbreak making strange bedfellows. Mary Prior was born in China, brought up in New Zealand, and has lived in Oxford for many years. She now spends her summers in Shetland. She has previously written Fisher Row, The Fishermen, Bargemen and Canal Boatmen of Oxford 1500-1900 and edited Women in English Society, 1500-1800. She has taught aspects of women’s history in England and lectured in Japan and Holland.