Seven Wives and Seven Prisons Or, Experiences in the Life of a Matrimonial Monomaniac. A True Story

A gritty, first‑person memoir follows a restless wanderer whose relentless pursuit of marriage lands him in a series of chaotic unions and legal entanglements. From his early, disastrous marriage that ends in a forged‑document scandal, he soon finds himself arrested for bigamy and thrust into the harsh world of a nineteenth‑century prison, where he learns trades like shoe‑making and even earns the warden’s reluctant respect.

The narrative then shifts to a series of frantic courtships and escape attempts, chronicling secret elopements, violent confrontations, and fleeting moments of freedom spent fishing on remote lakes. As each new wife brings fresh hope—and fresh trouble—the narrator’s relentless ambition drives him from town to town, always skirting the law and courting disaster. This candid, episodic account offers a raw glimpse into a life lived on the edge of society’s moral and legal boundaries.