As a family law person, I've been interested--intellectually-- in strategic marriage. That is, marriage for purpose other than the obviously romantic. Sure, we are aware of advantageous marriages: people marying for fame, fortune, power, and connections, and there are even online dating services that specifically aim to match persons looking for rich partners. But I came across a site today that was unabashed in its target market. Even Edith Wharton recognized the interest of monied Americans marrying into titled (and impoverished) European families, but the Age of Innocence did not have the advantage of the internet.
That brings us to The Single Peer, a blog dedicated to the status of Britain's unmarried titled males. Each post is dedicated to a single peer, with a short biography that includes occupation, salary, land holdings, and number of titles. With a goal of announcing the U.K.'s "most eleigible bachelors," the site details the relationship status of each with a conclusory analysis of what type of husband and family man he might be.
I found this fascinating for a number of salacious reasons, but mostly because it makes for an interesting intersection of law, family, and property. In the same way that Edwardian "dollar princesses" actively sought noble husbands, their contemporary counterparts seek similar benefits of marriage which ultimately concern heirship and inheritance. In our modern popular culture's fascination with various types of Reality Wives: -Army, -Mafia, and of course -House, The Single Peer opens up new and also antiquated questions of women and marriage.
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