Seven Wives and Seven Prisons

This work chronicles the tumultuous life of a man who, due to his experiences with numerous wives, finds himself imprisoned multiple times. The narrative delves into issues of love, betrayal, and the complexities of marriage in his quest for happiness. The opening portion of the memoir introduces the author's early life in New York, discussing his upbringing and his first marriage at a young age. He reflects on the unworthy nature of his first wife, leading to their eventual separation. A series of unfortunate events follow, including a trial for forgery that he unwittingly becomes embroiled in due to a forgery committed by a relative. As he navigates the consequences of his romantic decisions, readers gain insight into his character-his optimism despite the adversities he faces and his continual pursuit of love, often at great personal cost. The stage is set for a life filled with both passion and peril, characterized by the author's relentless cycle of marriages and incarcerations.

L. A. Abbott (born 1813) was a 19th-century American author best known for a single, highly unusual autobiographical book that details his tumultuous marital history and subsequent legal troubles. Described by himself as a "matrimonial monomaniac", Abbott's life and work walk a fine line between literal memoir and dark nineteenth-century satire.