Legitimacy and Bastardy in Scotland, 1694-1830

Abstract

DR LEAH LENEMAN (1944-99) was a Research Fellow in the Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Edinburgh. A distin guished historian of Scotland's social experience during both the early modern and modern periods, Dr Leneman's range and versatility ex tended from pioneering work in eighteenth-century family history to the history of the campaign for women's suffrage, including its links with vege tarianism (a particular interest, spawning publications in vegetarian cook ery, such as The Amazing Avocado (1984), which are, perhaps, less familiar to her historical audience). Nor do these various topics exhaust Dr Leneman's range, for she also published a great deal on rural history, while her work on topics such as divorce, bastardy and marriage was securely grounded in legal history and an impressive command of court records. Her historical works included Living in Atholl: A Social History of the Estates, 1685-1785 (1986), Fit for Heroes'? Land Settlement in Scotland after World War One (1989), In the Service of Life: The Story of Elsie Inglis and the Scottish Women's Hospitals (1994), Alienated Affections: The Scottish Experience of Divorce and Sep aration, 1684-1830 (1998), as well as several co-authored works with Rosa lind Mitchison on the history of sexuality in Scotland. Impressive as these different achievements were in themselves, they become even more formi dable when one learns that some of Dr Leneman's most significant pieces were completed during periods of remission from the cancer which eventu ally claimed her life. Dr Leneman arranged for the submission of this paper shortly before her death.