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Divorce a headliner

Richard Swainson

Today, outside of celebrity cases, divorce is a matter that seldom troubles the headlines of even our most tabloid of publications.

In earlier eras, when the

dissolution of marriage was formally frowned upon and the reading public had an insatiable appetite for the private lives of others, the New Zealand Truth milked divorce stories for all they were worth.

A century ago, the case of Edwards vs Edwards, involving a Wellington barrister from a respectable family, was prime Truth fodder.

Lionel L’Estrange Walter Edwards married Mary Berchum Edwards in October, 1920. In January of 1922 a baby was born of the union but Mary had been advised by others of her husband’s possible infidelity. When, in September of the same year, he insisted on inviting another woman to their Island Bay residence, her suspicions were aroused. Lionel

ignored his wife’s protests and the invitation stood.

Mary was absent when the unwelcome guest first arrived. When she returned to the house rather than announcing her presence she hid in her maid’s bedroom, adjacent to the boudoir. Together, Mary and her servant eavesdropped on a conversation between Lionel and his friend, who were in the other room. When the latter left the house together, Mary elected to sleep the night in the maid’s room.

Around 3pm the following day, Lionel returned to the residence with his guest. The pair entered the marital bedroom, locking the door behind them. Mary overheard an intimate conversation between the two.

Pretending to leave the house — loudly slamming the front door behind her — she then re-entered via a back door. Locating a spare key to her bedroom, she and the maid turned the lock.

Lionel and his friend did their best to conceal themselves. Mary pulled the bedclothes back, revealing a couple who were, in the coy words of later court proceedings, ‘‘very far from dressed’’. When Mary attempted to detail their exact positioning, the presiding magistrate laughed and said, ‘‘you needn’t go into that . . . it is sufficient that they were in bed together’’.

A decree nisi was granted, the Edwards’ divorce becoming final three months later.

History

en-nz

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282050511089501

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