In 1725, 17-year-old Henry Fielding tried to abduct his distant cousin Sarah Andrew. He later based his Tom Jones character Sophia Western on her.
human interest
How girls were meant to behave: Georgian conduct books
How the works of Hester Chapone, Hannah More, Mary Wollstonecraft, Erasmus Darwin reflected and influences the upbringing of girls in 18th century Britain
Lord Hardwicke’s Act: Marriage in the Georgian era
Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act (1754) aim to prevent clandestine marriage and impose stricter rules. But there were ways to get around it.
Elopement board game (1820)
An 1820 board game themed with elopement – flight, pursuit, and marriage at Gretna Green.
Elopement in the works of Jane Austen
Elopements occur frequently in Jane Austen’s works and perfectly reflect the anxieties about marriage at the time
The Abduction Club
The film The Abduction Club is based on the shocking conspiracy of Garrett Byrne and James Strange in 18th-century Ireland