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'Caroline Kearney was 31 years old when, in 1865, she found herself widowed, alone in a country far from home and responsible for six children. She had hoped that her sons would inherit the sheep farm they owned in the Wimmera in Victoria. But she had no rights to it herself. Her husband’s will offered a reasonable annuity to support her and the children. But it had a catch: for that support to be paid, she had to move to Ireland with her children and live with his brothers. English-born, she had migrated from there with her family when she was sixteen. She had never been to Ireland.
'This extraordinary story reveals so much about the nature of the law, property, family and women’s rights within the British Empire of the nineteenth century.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
- Dyslexic edition.
- Braille.
Works about this Work
-
Stephen Foster Review of Bettina Bradbury, Caroline’s Dilemma : A Colonial Inheritance Saga
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , August no. 5 2021; (p. 255-258)
— Review of Caroline's Dilemma 2019 single work biography 'Sir William Blackstone, in his Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–69), memorably described the legal power of a father over his children as ‘the empire of the father’—a phrase that might equally be applied to the husband’s power over his wife. A mother, as Blackstone explained in parentheses, was ‘entitled to no power, but only to reverence and respect’.' (Introduction) -
Betina Bradbury Shows the Painful Consequences of Nineteenth-century Inheritance Laws
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: History Australia , vol. 17 no. 4 2020; (p. 780-781)
— Review of Caroline's Dilemma 2019 single work biography'Caroline’s Dilemma is an excellent example of compelling women’s history. It is a carefully crafted piece of detective work, expanding our knowledge of the history of marriage and family life in the nineteenth-century settler colonial world. The book charts the detailed plight of Caroline Kearney, aged 31 and mother of six children, following her husband Edward’s death in Melbourne in 1865. In his will, Edward insisted that Caroline would be granted 200 pounds a year provided she never married again and moved to the other side of the world to live with her children in Ireland under the watchful eye of his Catholic family. Edward ordered his widow to live in a house chosen by Edward’s brother, where their children would be reared as Catholics. Caroline was left with scant legal rights to her home or children following her husband’s death after he came under the influence of his Irish Catholic brother William, who was determined to wrest his brother’s children away from their Protestant mother’s influence, as his brother sickened and then died. The will suggested that when her children reached adulthood, Caroline would receive a portion of her husband’s sizeable estate – accumulated with her contributions on marriage and their dual labour. The Victorian farm that the family had nurtured, and the children hoped to remain living upon, was ordered to be sold to fund the large family’s passage to Ireland.' (Introduction)
-
Betina Bradbury Shows the Painful Consequences of Nineteenth-century Inheritance Laws
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: History Australia , vol. 17 no. 4 2020; (p. 780-781)
— Review of Caroline's Dilemma 2019 single work biography'Caroline’s Dilemma is an excellent example of compelling women’s history. It is a carefully crafted piece of detective work, expanding our knowledge of the history of marriage and family life in the nineteenth-century settler colonial world. The book charts the detailed plight of Caroline Kearney, aged 31 and mother of six children, following her husband Edward’s death in Melbourne in 1865. In his will, Edward insisted that Caroline would be granted 200 pounds a year provided she never married again and moved to the other side of the world to live with her children in Ireland under the watchful eye of his Catholic family. Edward ordered his widow to live in a house chosen by Edward’s brother, where their children would be reared as Catholics. Caroline was left with scant legal rights to her home or children following her husband’s death after he came under the influence of his Irish Catholic brother William, who was determined to wrest his brother’s children away from their Protestant mother’s influence, as his brother sickened and then died. The will suggested that when her children reached adulthood, Caroline would receive a portion of her husband’s sizeable estate – accumulated with her contributions on marriage and their dual labour. The Victorian farm that the family had nurtured, and the children hoped to remain living upon, was ordered to be sold to fund the large family’s passage to Ireland.' (Introduction)
-
Stephen Foster Review of Bettina Bradbury, Caroline’s Dilemma : A Colonial Inheritance Saga
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , August no. 5 2021; (p. 255-258)
— Review of Caroline's Dilemma 2019 single work biography 'Sir William Blackstone, in his Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–69), memorably described the legal power of a father over his children as ‘the empire of the father’—a phrase that might equally be applied to the husband’s power over his wife. A mother, as Blackstone explained in parentheses, was ‘entitled to no power, but only to reverence and respect’.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2020 shortlisted Ernest Scott Prize
