Alexandre DUMAS, Jr. *La Question du divorce*. Paris: Calmann Lévy,...

Alexandre DUMAS, Jr. *La Question du divorce*. Paris: Calmann Lévy, 1880.
In-8, paperback, padded cover, full margins, marginal water stain on the upper endpaper, very slight pinholes, slipcase.
[2 ff.], 417 pp., title in red and black.
First edition. 1 of 10 copies printed on Whatman paper.
Enacted in 1792, the divorce law was severely restricted during the Empire before being abolished at the beginning of the Restoration. Throughout the century, heated debates continued. Beginning in 1876, Albert Naquet submitted legislative proposals, all of which were rejected, and in 1880, Pope Leo XIII published an encyclical on Christian marriage, which was, of course, indissoluble.
It was against this backdrop that Dumas Fils entered the fray and wrote this impassioned plea for the reinstatement of divorce. Its impact on public opinion was considerable, and it served as one of the fundamental milestones that led, in 1884, to the passage of the law sponsored by Naquet.
Vicaire III, 481–482; Talvart, 51.