Robert M. Kingdon was Hilldale Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

A resounding success in terms of both social and institutional history… Kingdon’s analysis of the social and political context of divorce, the role of servants, etc. is compelling and provides an important window into Calvin’s Geneva… [This is] a fascinating picture not only of divorce in Geneva, but also of the nuts and bolts operation of the city’s church and government. The depth and breadth of knowledge of the Genevan archives and the careful, precise use Kingdon makes of them is nothing less than we would expect from a scholar of Kingdon’s stature. But what makes this book truly remarkable is the combination of impeccable scholarship with a clear, almost conversational style that works with the intrinsic interest of the material to make this book a genuine pleasure to read… This is an extraordinary book, scholarly, elegant, and humane, that can be read with profit and enjoyed by scholars, undergraduate and graduate students, and the general public alike.

• Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Institutional Matrix 2. The Pierre Ameaux Case: Divorce for Adultery and Blasphemy 3. The Antoine Calvin Case: Divorce for Adultery 4. The Jean Bietrix Case: Forced Reconciliation 5. Death for Adultery 6. The Galeazzo Caracciolo Case: Divorce for Religious Desertion 7. The Rationale for Divorce: Theodore Beza's Treatise Conclusion Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index