In 1637, Sarah Cox – a rich heiress aged 14 – is kidnapped from Newington Common, near London. Her abductor hopes to marry her for money, but is thwarted when her relatives manage to free her. Relations between the sexes are not always so dramatic, but the 17th century is a time of sharp conflict between bawdiness and Puritanism.

Women

In 1652, the Ely assizes hears the case of John Barnes, who, returning from an alehouse 'hot with beer', beats and kicks his wife. His neighbours, however, don't tolerate this and give evidence against him. The excesses of male patriarchy do not go unchallenged.

In theory, women are socially and legally inferior: unable to vote, not educated, barely allowed to trade, and have to be widows before they can control their own property.

In practice, English women, when compared with those of other European countries, enjoy a greater degree of freedom. Blood feuds on points of female honour are rare. But women don't have an easy time.

Some blame the effects of the Reformation, which abolished the Virgin Mary as a symbol of womanhood and led to the closure of nunneries, which offered women careers outside of marriage.

Now the Protestant emphasis is on the husband as the exponent of God's word to his household – women are meant to obey their menfolk. However, the idea of marriage as a partnership has also taken hold – and this is good news for women.

Marriage

On 11 December 1644, the diarist Ralph Josselin records that, at the wedding of one of his less prosperous parishioners, the groom gives ribbons and gloves as presents, and that 'there was very good company.' While the less well-off make an effort, the richer gentry indulge in splendid weddings, with huge quantities of food and ale consumed.

Generally, the lower down the social scale you are, the freer is your choice of marriage partner. And while men do most of the wooing, women often also propose marriage.

Marriage can be legally consummated by boys at 14 and girls at 12. Only about 10% of women never marry, with the average age of first marriage for men being about 26-29 and women 24-26.

One in five children dies before their first birthday. Many wives die in childbirth.

Most marriages end in the death of one of the partners. Josselin is most unusual in that his marriage lasts more than 40 years. In most families, stepmothers and stepfathers are common.

Divorce is a luxury for the very rich. Poor people tend simply to desert each other if their marriages fail.

In 1650, under Puritan rule, adultery is made punishable by death, and extramarital sex carries a penalty of three months' imprisonment.

Female success

Despite legal and customary prohibitions, some women succeed. Usually, it helps to be born upper class. Lady Mary Wroth, who wrote the first prose romance in English, was a member of the powerful and literary Sidney family.

After the Restoration, women are allowed to act on the public stage. However, a more traditional way of becoming a celebrity is to attract a sugar daddy – Nell Gwyn is a nobody until she lands Charles II as her lover. She openly boasts of being 'the Protestant whore' – and is more popular than the king's Catholic mistresses.

A more risky way of becoming notorious is crime: Moll Cutpurse, a female pickpocket, dresses as a man.

New horizons

During the unrest of the Civil War come new opportunities for women. All over the country, aristocratic women become military leaders. The countess of Derby, for example, defends Latham House in two sieges. In 1643, in Lord Arundell's absence, his 60-year-old wife Blanche – with the help of a mere 25 fighting men – holds out in Old Wardour Castle in Wiltshire against a Parliamentary army of 1,300. She only surrenders when mines are used and petards (small bombs) are threatened.

In London, there are several protest marches by women. And although their petitions usually start with formulas such as 'though we be but feeble women', don't be deceived – their demands are as eloquent and as hard-hitting as those of the men (see DIY politics).

By 1694, much has changed – Mary Astell publishes a tract in favour of an all-female institute of learning.

Prostitution

In London, there are brothels in Blackfriars and Bankside in London. One of the most famous is called Holland's Leaguer, run by Bess Holland – it even has a moat and portcullis to prevent the forces of law and order from shutting it down.

Some of the many thousands of prostitutes who work in the area are remembered in literature. For instance, playwright Ben Jonson mentions Kate Arden.

Street prostitutes cost anything from sixpence to a half crown. Supper with a classy courtesan, such as Bess Broughton, is £20, not to mention what she might charge for more carnal favours.

Many 'strumpets' operate from theatres. Late in the century, John Dryden writes: 'The playhouse is their place of traffic, where/Nightly they sit to sell their rotten ware.'

During these times, there are many attempts to clean up the areas where prostitutes ply their trade.

Lesbian and gay

Same-sex relations attract enormous prejudice and revulsion, backed by stern biblical warnings and the violent fulminations of preachers.

Sodomy is a capital crime and – if convicted – men will be hanged. But although men are regularly executed, lesbians – because they attract less notice – remain hidden from view.

It is worth remembering that, because of the universal opprobrium in which homosexuals are held, few will admit to their sexuality. James I may love fondling young men but he'd be appalled if anyone suggested he was homosexual.

Likewise, there is no gay scene, nor any concept of a gay lifestyle. Men – often married men – occasionally have sex with other men, usually in strict secrecy and with the utmost discretion. A few dress up as women, but exposure usually results in heavy penalties. More commonly, women dress as men and go to sea or to war.

Witches

Poor, elderly women living on the fringes of society – especially widows – are particularly vulnerable. If something goes wrong in a village, they are often blamed and denounced as witches. Witchcraft is a capital offence, and about 1,000 women are publicly executed during the century.

In England, witchcraft has little to do with worshipping the Devil, but a lot to do with maleficium, using magic powers to harm your neighbours.

For example, in 1617, Mary Smith of King's Lynn is falsely accused of stealing a hen. When she curses her accuser, Elizabeth Hancocke, and the latter falls mysteriously ill, Smith is hanged for being a witch.

During the Civil War, an Essex lawyer, Matthew Hopkins – nicknamed the Witchfinder General – tours East Anglia, looking for witches and killing 230 of them.

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