Since the publication of Lawrence Stone's pioneering monograph The Family, Sex, and Marriage in 1977, a torrent of literature has been produced on the history of early modern kinship. Initially, scholars focused on the bonds between husbands and wives, and parents and children, while more recent studies by scholars such as Naomi Tadmor and Amy Froide have highlighted the significance of ties between wider kin and unmarried individuals. There remains, however, one family connection that has rarely aroused much interest: the interactions between siblings. The Ties that Bind, by the celebrated historian Bernard Capp, joins a select number of studies that seek to fill in this vital piece of the family puzzle. The first author to focus specifically on siblings in early modern England, Capp topples the view put forward in Christopher Johnson and David Warren Sabean's edited volume, Sibling Relations and the Transformation of European Kinship 1400–1900 (2011), that affection between brothers and sisters was rare until 1800. As Capp declares, it is “impossible to square” the “emotional indifference” paradigm with the evidence “repeatedly” found in the earlier sources of “strong emotional relationships between siblings” (201).
Drawing on personal documents, plays, and legal evidence, Capp reveals with characteristic sensitivity and poignancy the enormous diversity of sibling bonds, which ranged from lifelong love and devotion to bitter resentment and even murder. At one extreme, the young Staffordshire gentlewoman Constance Fowler told her brother in the 1630s, she could “never hear too often” of his love for her, and that to be apart from him “is worse than a continual death” (62). At the other, we encounter Freeman Sonders from Kent, whose hatred for his eldest brother George erupted in a fatal stabbing while the heir lay asleep (38–39). Emotions feature on every page of this monograph, though Capp does not engage explicitly with this field of study.
Organized into two sections, the book has thirteen chapters, including the introduction and conclusion. The first section explores the relationships between different kinds of siblings, and analyses issues that facilitated or frustrated these bonds. Chapter 2, “The Experience of Childhood,” discusses parental favoritism and the consequences of such treatment on sibling relationships. For those readers hoping for a child's perspective, it should be noted that the chapter mainly takes the viewpoint of adults. Chapter 3, “Fraternal Bonds,” investigates the interactions between brothers of various rank, showcasing the great range of associated responsibilities. The fourth chapter, “Across the Gender Divide,” surveys the interactions between male and female siblings, revealing some unexpected similarities, as well as differences, in these obligations. Focusing on sisters specifically, Chapter 5 also demonstrates many areas of overlap in sibling relationships despite the potential for greater equality between sisters. The sixth chapter investigates the interactions between stepchildren, half-siblings, and illegitimate offspring, with a meaty discussion of the stereotype of the “wicked stepmother.” The final chapter of the section identifies the important spiritual roles played by siblings, and shows how religious matters could seed both strife and solidarity within families.
The second section, “Family Stories,” is a series of meticulously researched case studies that together reveal the tremendous complexity and variability of sibling relationships, even within one family. Chapter 8 narrates the experiences of the Quaker businessman William Stout (1665–1752), exemplifying the mutually “caring and generous” (141) treatment of siblings. Chapter 9 paints a less harmonious picture, centered on Samuel Pepys, a man who took seriously his obligations as elder brother but showed little affection for these “troublesome and unsatisfactory” siblings (153), especially his “ugly sister,” Pall. Chapter 10, “Trouble with Brothers,” explores the difficulties encountered by the gentlewomen Alice Thornton (1626–1707) and Dorothy Osborne (1627–1695), who faced either financial hardship or romantic frustrations due to the actions of their male siblings. Chapter 11 focuses on the unhappy relationships of James Yonge (1647–1721), a Plymouth surgeon, and John Cannon (1684–1743), a schoolteacher; these case studies demonstrate the devastating effects of parental favoritism on siblings’ feelings toward each other. Finally, Chapter 12 explores the “exquisite unanimity and harmony” enjoyed between the lawyer and politician Roger North (1653–1734) and his brothers (194). In this second section, Capp provides fascinating insights into the idiosyncrasies of particular individuals, such as the spider-collecting academic John North, who was afraid of the dark and once mistook a white towel for a ghost (187).
Capp's underlying argument is that sibling relationships present something of a paradox. In some cases, interactions varied significantly according to birth order, gender, and social status, a finding that makes sense given the cultural dominance of the traditions of primogeniture and patriarchy. Eldest sons from the upper echelons, for example, faced greater pressure than did younger siblings to provide financial assistance and to help in the search for potential marriage partners. At the same time, however, there were innumerable occasions when siblings’ roles overlapped: for instance, sisters of all ranks might lend money to their elder brothers in times of need, while younger sons were sometimes involved in the pursuit of a spouse for an elder brother. Many other duties could be fulfilled—or neglected—by any sibling, such as looking after orphaned nephews and nieces, mobilizing contacts for career progression, providing companionship and emotional support, and sheltering a vulnerable sibling from political or civil danger. The inevitable consequence of this overlap is a degree of repetition between chapters. Another striking finding in this study concerns the fluidity of the concept of siblinghood and its great reliance on other family connections as models for how brothers and sisters should interact. For instance, older siblings were often described as “quasi-parents” to younger ones (35, 72, 137, 164, 181), while sisters and brothers who assisted each another in domestic or financial matters assumed the roles of “quasi-wife” or husband (182, 188). One is left wondering what was unique about the sibling concept or whether it was simply an iteration of the parental or spousal ideal.
In short, The Ties that Bind is a memorable and illuminating portrait of family relationships that brings to life the true complexity and variability of sibling interactions in early modern England.
