Anne Orthwood's Bastard

by John Ruston Pagan

Description

"Anne Orthwood's Bastard" tells the story of a maidservant from Bristol, England who emigrated to Virginia's Eastern Shore in 1662, became pregnant by a caddish nephew of a colonial politician, and died in childbirth, leaving an illegitimate son and a host of knotty legal problems. Through a study of the four cases stemming from this birth and the people involved, Pagan uses the community's response to illuminate the emerging distinctiveness of early American law. He argues that the peculiar show more structure of Virginia's economy and labour system accounts for many of the differences between colonial and English law, and contends that Virginia leaders skilfully shaped legal doctrines and institutions to serve their own agenda. show less

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2 reviews

vonze 296 reviews

Read this for my U.S. Women's History class. Overall, it was very interesting and I enjoyed learning more about early Virginia. However, the book introduces more people and legal cases than necessary. I wish it had focused more on the Orthwood/Kendell families and their affairs and less on supporting characters/people in their community. Good book if your interested in law.

Feb 6, 2014

2ndCharter 2 reviews

Good book and very insightful into the ways of colonial law on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. My ancestor was one of the justices involved in this case.

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IndyLibrarian 13 reviews

Mar 16, 2011

leluepke 1 review

Oct 9, 2009