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Caroline Norton (1808-1877) was a Victorian author and campaigner for social reform, especially reform of women's legal rights. In this lucidly written account Norton describes how upon marriage in 1855 women became legally 'non-existent': they could not bring cases to court; they could not enter into a contract; they could not instigate a divorce and their possessions, earnings and any bequests made to them automatically became their husband's property. Norton explains how this lack of legal autonomy affected women if they became estranged from their husbands, using her own experiences for illustration and recommending changes which would improve women's legal position. Published in 1855 when Parliament was debating the subject of divorce reform, this volume shows the legal position of women at this time. It provides the opinions of contemporary legislators in support and opposition on the issues of women's legal rights and reform of divorce laws.

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In 1852 William Howitt (1792-1879) set sail for Australia with two of his sons in order to try his luck in the goldfields of Victoria. By then he was already a prolifically published author of both prose and verse. He was only moderately successful as a gold-digger, but his account of life in the new colony, published in 1855 after his return to England, provides an extraordinary snapshot of the rapid early growth of Melbourne. Volume 1 covers Howitt's first impressions of Australia, his experiences on the journey to the diggings at Bendigo, the throngs of prospectors, the exorbitant prices charged by profiteering merchants, and the miners' protest over high government licence fees. He describes the hard life endured by the diggers and warns against women coming to the colony.