“A very able volume on the subject of human marriage, which, in our opinion, is calculated to set the world thinking again with a view to correcting preconceived ideas.”
Times, July 2, 1891.
“Dr. Westermarck brings to the treatment of his subject the accumulated results of very extensive study and the dialectical resources of a powerful and logical mind.... In this judgment (Mr. Wallace’s) we fully concur.... Mr. Westermarck propounds views which are at once novel and ingenious, and supports them with great variety of illustrations and great cogency of reasoning.”
Scotsman, July 6, 1891.
“Scientific precision has rarely been attained in a style more agreeable and elegant by any indigenous writer. Mr. Westermarck’s book would have been deeply interesting even if it had been less well written.... The results of his erudition form a mountain of wealth.”
St. James’s Gazette, July 20, 1891.
“Of the value of his (the author’s) researches ... we cannot speak too highly. His book is in every way deserving of the high eulogy pronounced on it by Mr. Wallace.”
Manchester Guardian, July, 1891.
“Mr. Westermarck has established his position among the first of historical anthropologists, he has thrown light upon many of the unsolved mysteries in the history of the human race, and he has swept out of the way several theories which have hitherto blocked the path to a right solution of the main question at issue.... The book affords a model for future investigators in this field. It is no small compliment to English anthropology that the author has chosen to write his book in English.”
Anti-Jacobin, July 18, 1891.