There have always been mail-order brides in America--but we haven't always thought about them in the same ways. In Buying a Bride, Marcia A. Zug starts with the so-called -Tobacco Wives- of the Jamestown colony and moves all the way forward to today's modern same-sex mail-order grooms to explore the advantages and disadvantages of mail-order marriage. It's a history of deception, physical abuse, and failed unions. It's also the story of how mail-order marriage can offer women surprising and empowering opportunities. Drawing on a forgotten trove of colorful mail-order marriage court...