Surpassing the Love of Men by Lillian Faderman

Faderman reconstructs the libel suit filed by Pirie and Woods that eventually resulted in a scotch verdict - a verdict of not proven or an inconclusive decision.

Lillian Faderman, award-winning author of Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers, gives an extraordinary rendering of the real-life story on which Lillian Hellman based her famous play, The Childrens Hour. Within days, the school is deserted and the two women deprived of their livelihood. Dame Cumming Gordon, the wealthy and powerful grandmother of the accusing student, advises her friends to remove their daughters from the boarding school. A student, Jane Cumming, accuses her school mistresses, Jane Pirie and Marianne Woods, of having an affair in the presence of their students. Her fascinating portrait documents the social, economic, and sexual pressures shaping the lives of nineteenth-century women and the issues of class and gender contributing to their marginalization.

Reconstructing the libel suit filed by Pirie and Woods-which resulted in a scotch verdict, or a verdict of inconclusive/not proven-Faderman builds a compelling narrative from court transcripts, judges notes, witnesses contradictory testimony, and the prejudices of the men presiding over the case. Award-winning author Lillian Faderman recreates the events surrounding this notorious case, which became the basis for Lillian Hellmans famous play, The Childrens Hour. Within days, the institution was deserted and the two women were deprived of their livelihoods. Dame Helen Cumming Gordon, the wealthy and powerful grandmother of the accusing student, advised her friends to remove their daughters from the Drumsheugh boarding school.

Book Synopsis In 1810, a Scottish student named Jane Cumming accused her school mistresses, Jane Pirie and Marianne Woods, of having an affair in the presence of their students. Faderman examines the customs and attitudes of the era in relation to women today. About the Book Exploring the economic status of women in the 19th century, author Lilliam Faderman details the true-life case of two young Scottish schoolmistresses who were deprived of their livelihoods after being falsely accused of carrying on an affair in front of their students.

Surpassing the Love of Men by Lillian Faderman