A History of Marriage A History of Marriage A History of Marriage, published by Seven Stories Press, is a non-fiction book by Elizabeth Abbott, the Canadian author of "A History of Celibacy" (1999) and "A History of Mistresses" (2003) that combines general history and personal histories of marriage. The book is a study of mostly North American rituals of courting, nuptials, marriage, sex, child-raising and divorce. Some topics covered are relative ages at which various societies from Chinese to Mormon married off their girls; details of the satisfying marriage of Martin Luther and former nun Katharina von Bora; the ruptured family units of Native
A New England Nun A New England Nun "A New England Nun" is a short story by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman published in 1891. "A New England Nun" is the story of Louisa Ellis, a woman who has lived alone for many years. Louisa is set in her ways, she likes to keep her house meticulously clean, wear multiple aprons, and eat from her nicest china every day. She has an old dog named Caesar who she feels must be kept chained up because he bit a neighbor 14 years ago as a puppy. Louisa promised Joe Dagget 14 years ago that she would