The Codrington Divorce Trial, or Female Friendship Betrayed

Wednesday, June 10, 2026 - 15:00 The Lesbian Historic Motif Project When it comes down to it, the Codrington divorce trial is not a shining example of much of anything. Maybe Helen Codrington and Emily Faithful had a lesbian affair? But the divorce trial was about Helen's heterosexual extra-marital relations. The hint of the threat of a revelation of Emily's sexual orientation comes into play only to prevent her from testifying on Helen's behalf. And it's quite possible that the testimony Helen wanted her to give would have been false in the first place. But it still provides insight into Victorian ways of talking about lesbianism without ever actually mentioning it. Major category: LHMPTags: LHMP LHMP #562 VIcinus 1997 Lesbian Perversity and Victorian Marriage About LHMP Full citation: Vicinus, Martha. “Lesbian Perversity and Victorian Marriage: The 1864 Codrington Divorce Trial” pp.92-94 in Journal of British Studies 36, no. 1 (1997). If you want an interesting fictional version of…