This study explores pre- and extra-marital relationships among the gentry and nobility of the north of England from 1450 to 1640: the keeping of mistresses, the taking of lovers, the birth of illegitimate children and the fate of those children. It challenges assumptions about the extent to which such activities declined in the period, and hence about the impact of Protestantism and other changes to the culture of the elite. A major contribution to the literature on marriage and sexual relationships, family, kinship and gender, it is aimed at an academic readership in the fields of social and political history.

Reviews

'A gentleman's mistress makes a welcome contribution to studies of elite sexual behavior through its focus on the often-neglected north, its inclusion of the entire landed elite rather than just the peerage or court circles, its attention to the women involved in illegitimate relationships, and its coverage of a long-timespan, including the Yorkist and early Tudor periods'
Judith J Hurwich, The Sixteenth Century Journal

Introduction
1 Background and legal framework
2 The extent of bastardy among the elite
3 The role and status of the mistress
4 Gentlewomen and their lovers
5 The 'wronged' partner
6 The bastard children
Conclusion
Index

Authors

Tim Thornton is Professor of History and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Huddersfield.
Katharine Carlton is Research Assistant at the University of Huddersfield.