Regina v. Jackson, an 1891 case law from precedent, prohibited a husband's imprisonment or forcible restraint of his wife without special legal cause. For a fictional example of what was permitted before this, see Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Exact month of case unknown; if you have information about the correct date, please email felluga@purdue.edu with this information.

Articles

Anne Wallace, “On the Deceased Wife’s Sister Controversy, 1835-1907″