Podcast Summary: New Books Network Episode: "Working-Class Courtship, Marriage, and Divorce in Scotland, 1855–1939" Guests: Professor Eleanor Gordon & Professor Katie Barclay Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher Date: March 5, 2026

Episode Overview

This lively episode explores the new book Working-Class Courtship, Marriage, and Divorce in Scotland, 1855–1939 (Oxford UP, 2025), authored by Eleanor Gordon, Katie Barclay, and Jeff Meek. Host Dr. Miranda Melcher speaks with Gordon and Barclay about their ground-breaking study of Scottish working-class family life—including courtship, marriage, divorce, and broader family structures—challenging prevailing assumptions and illuminating rich complexities often overlooked in historical research. The episode moves through motivations for the book, major findings about family forms and courtship, state interventions, expressions of care, and how marriages ended.

Author Introductions & Project Origins

[01:35-06:02]

• Eleanor Gordon describes being motivated by media discourse about the "breakdown of the traditional family," which she critiques as ill-defined and often contradictory. The authors noticed that most historical work on families focused on upper and middle classes, partly due to source availability.
  • “We felt that it would be useful to look at this through the lens of the working class...they'd been particularly neglected.” [02:49]
  • The project also sought to map differences within the working class, contrasting urban/rural settings, economic structures, and internal diversity.
• Katie Barclay joined after prior research on the lower orders in Scotland (1650–1830s), eager to trace continuities and changes into the modern period.
  • “It was a really great opportunity to come and extend the conversation from what I'd been doing originally.” [05:06]

Family Forms & Household Types

[06:48-11:59]

• The dominant snapshot is of the nuclear family, but deeper analysis shows that true "pure" nuclear families (just parents and children) were not the majority.
• Many households included boarders, lodgers (often relatives or immigrants), or extended kin—outnumbering pure nuclear units.
• Urban/Rural Variations:
  • Extended kin households more common in rural/island areas, linked to labor patterns (e.g., crofting/farming).
  • Urban households saw more unrelated lodgers/boarders.
• High rates of single-parent families (17–25%), mostly female-headed, stemmed from widowhood, temporary male absence (e.g., fishermen), desertion, and migration. Some census categories (like "married" but living alone) hint at hidden complexities.
• Blended families (children from previous unions) were present but harder to quantify.
  • “A parent dies, an elderly or younger relative comes to live with the family, husbands desert...there's a kaleidoscope of family forms.” [11:59]

Courtship Practices

[12:26-21:46]

• Pre-WWI:
  • Courtship was locally rooted: kinship, neighborhood, and friendship networks predominated.
  • In the Highlands/Islands, group gatherings (music, dance) were popular. Even after migration, community ties (e.g., Gaelic institutions in Glasgow) remained essential.
  • Urban youth gathered at fairs, in the street, “walking the mat” (Aberdeen). Church/youth groups were vital social spaces.
  • Escaping parental/community scrutiny led to creative rendezvous (e.g., “bundling” in Shetland—couples in bed, fully clothed, in the family home under parental observation).
• Interwar Years:
  • Growth of commercial leisure (dance halls, cinemas, charabanc day trips) expanded opportunities, primarily in urban areas.
  • These new anonymous spaces shifted possibilities, though access was still limited by gender, income, locality, and parental oversight.
  • “The interwar period did bring about significant changes...but we were also struck by the continuities.” [19:50]
• Choosing Partners:
  • Pragmatic qualities (reliability, respectability, stability) were prioritized, particularly given economic uncertainties.
    • “Well, he didn't get into trouble.” and “His mother set a lovely table.”—West of Scotland women on why they chose their husbands [19:36]
  • Romantic love existed, but care and practical provision were seen as expressions of affection.

Illegitimacy & Attitudes to Non-Marital Children

[22:52-26:25]

• Scotland historically seen as having high illegitimacy, though not exceptional in Europe. Rates ranged 5–10% of births, higher in some areas like Aberdeen due to rural labor arrangements and familial structures that accommodated out-of-wedlock births.
  • “It's quite interesting...some places, like Aberdeen...have exceptionally high rates of illegitimacy...” [22:52]
• Family support and reduced stigma for illegitimate children in some regions; other areas had stricter morality.
• Rates and attitudes were highly regionally and occupationally variable, lacking a neat urban-rural split.

State, Legislation, and Regulation

[27:17-30:41]

• The creation of civil registration in 1855 made illegitimacy visible in official records, prompting Victorian-era moral panics, but also bureaucratic reform.
  • “A kind of statistical event creates a particular kind of response…” [27:17]
• The state moved to regularize marriage in response to practical needs (e.g., eligibility for war pensions), requiring registration, regularizing irregular marriage, and phasing out forms like the exchange-of-consent “irregular” marriage.
  • “They're kind of bringing in these rules...often actually driven by a sense of their need to protect the working class.” [29:34]
• Nevertheless, working-class people navigated these systems with notable agency and adaptability.

Sex, Cohabitation, and Alternative Relationships

[30:41-39:52]

• Sex outside marriage was fairly common, often a part of courtship expecting marriage as an eventual outcome.
• “Irregular” marriages (simple consent, no ceremony) persisted longer in Scotland than elsewhere, only abolished in 1939.
  • “Irregular marriage was a simple exchange of consent...over our time period, definition tightened…” [34:19]
• Cohabitation and even bigamous marriages were present, particularly given barriers to legal divorce and separation.
  • Bigamy often discovered when deserted partners sought aid—hinting at more women than statistics reveal.
• Official records capture only part of the picture; true prevalence of such relationships exceeds what authorities saw.

Everyday Marriage, Care, and Regulation

[41:08-43:29]

• The state—and new organizations like the Society for Protection of Children—regularly policed cleanliness, respectability, and parenting capabilities, especially among the poor.
  • “People become increasingly concerned with poverty as a sign of neglect, as a sign of lack of respectability.” [41:08]
  • Schools, charities, and inspectors evaluated family life, imposing middle-class norms about marriage, household management, and child-rearing.
• Family love was expressed pragmatically, through provision and care rather than verbal acclamation.
  • “The cup of tea is a kind of iconic symbol of love...you demonstrate your love and care.” [21:03]
  • Physical affection (kisses, hugs, shared activities) remembered fondly, but verbal expressions of love were rare and private.

Divorce, Desertion, and the Ends of Marriage

[47:33-56:51]

• The most common way marriages ended was widowhood; deaths of young spouses (under 45) were not uncommon. Wartime increased the number of widows and single-parent households drastically.
• Formal divorce was rare despite liberal Scottish laws, due to remaining economic, legal, and practical barriers (e.g., cost, access to Edinburgh courts, limited grounds until 1938).
• Desertion often filled the gap—difficult to measure, but indicated by records of poor relief and charity cases.
  • “Given obstacles to divorce...it was actually an easier and more convenient way to end a marriage.” [47:33]
• Attitudes to lone parents and broken homes were complex—sometimes pejorative, especially from authorities, but working-class communities showed greater acceptance, especially given prevalence.
• The emergence of advocacy groups resulted in somewhat more sympathetic attitudes over time.

Conclusions & Notable Takeaways

[57:01-58:45]

• Much of the archival record was shaped by misfortune (poverty, court cases), but there were also oral histories and other sources pointing to ordinary happiness and satisfaction.
  • “We also got some of the more positive and perhaps actually more ordinary experiences of working class life. ...They had rich lives. Many...expressed happiness and satisfaction…” —Katie Barclay [57:01]
• Working-class Scots were actors, not merely passive recipients of elite norms; they innovated and exercised agency under constraint.
  • “The working class manage to make their own history...” —Eleanor Gordon [58:14]

Memorable Quotes

• On Family Forms:
  “There’s a kaleidoscope of family forms.” —Eleanor Gordon [11:59]
• On Courtship:
  “Love is a doing word, it’s a verb...” —Anecdote via Eleanor Gordon [21:46]
• On Illegitimacy:
  “A kind of statistical event creates a particular kind of response…” —Katie Barclay [27:17]
• On Expressing Affection:
  “The cup of tea is a kind of iconic symbol of love in British families.” —Katie Barclay [21:03]
• On Agency:
  “The working class manage to make their own history, albeit in conditions what they are making.” —Eleanor Gordon [58:14]

Key Timestamps

• [01:35] Introductions and project origins
• [06:48] Types of families in working-class Scotland
• [12:26] Courtship and partner choice
• [22:52] Illegitimacy and its regional/social context
• [27:17] State intervention and legal reforms
• [34:19] Alternative relationships: irregular marriage, cohabitation, bigamy
• [41:08] Everyday regulation, cleanliness, and family respectability
• [43:29] Emotional life and expressions of love/care
• [47:33] Divorce, desertion, and marriage breakdown
• [57:01] Reflections and concluding thoughts

Further Work

• Eleanor Gordon: Researching women of Clydebank, recovering overlooked stories in industrial/military contexts [58:59].
• Katie Barclay: Project on early modern children and feelings of safety in turbulent times [60:14].

Recommendation:
For an illuminating, nuanced exploration of Scottish working-class families—shattering stereotypes and foregrounding resilience, adaptability, and humanity—read Working-Class Courtship, Marriage, and Divorce in Scotland, 1855–1939 (Oxford UP, 2025).