In 1763 England passed a law fixing the minimum age for marriage at 16 with parental consent needed for anyone under 21 During the Georgian Period the average age of marriage was 27 Teenage brides were anomalous One can understand why when reading Jo Beverley’s latest novel A Scandalous Countess Her heroine Georgia is just twenty and after almost three years of marriage a widowGeorgie was an immature bride — she was