In 1884, Gertrude Blood was granted separation from her husband Lord Colin Campbell on the grounds that he knowingly infected her with a sexually transmitted disease. Doctors of their time believed the disease was syphilis, but scientists of today believe this was a severe case of Gonorhhea. Colin's ailment couldn't be cured by the treatment they had available and reported to return and worsen as time progressed. Another thing to consider is Gonnearhea was discovered in 1879; they didn't have any insight on the disease or even how to begin to find a cure. So when this case came about, medical professionals of this Era were just beginning to experience its existence.

Divorce wasn't an option for the common woman and was considered highly taboo due to teachings taught in the Christian bible (which was the rule book of the land at the time. Secularism was just beginning to pick up in England) The only people who were able to divorce successfully and privately were the rich who could meet with Parliament, and out of the cases that were approved, ten(at the most) got passed annually (Wood). 

Two years after the judicial separation was passed, and constant harassment from Colin, the two finally had their day in court. This case was very brutal and in turn, laid all their dirty laundry on the table. Colin fought the divorce to the very end and created rumors and scandals against Gertrude in hopes that the court and jury would side with him. In the end, Gertrude was found not guilty and neither party was proven as an adulterer. The divorce wasn't granted to the couple, but Gertrude still managed to rebuild her life away from Colin. After Colin's death in 1895, Gertrude went on and became a regular magazine writer which lead to her first published book written under the name "G.E Brunefille"(Conliffe).

Works Cited 

Conliffe, Ciaran. "Campbell Versus Campbell, In The Divorce of The Century." HPN History. 10 July 2016. https://www.headstuff.org/culture/history/campbell-versus-campbell-in-th...

Wood, Margaret. "Marriage and Divorce 19th Century Style" Library of Congress blog, 23 Feb 2018. https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2018/02/marriage-and-divorce-19th-century-style/