The plot of The Stranger in Her House hinges on a real and controversial aspect of English and Welsh law, which the author explicitly highlights in his acknowledgements. Under Section 18 of the Wills Act of 1837, marriage automatically revokes any previously existing will. While designed to protect a new spouse, this law creates a loophole for “predatory marriage,” where a vulnerable person is coerced or deceived into a marriage that disinherits their chosen beneficiaries. 

This issue gained significant public attention through the case of Joan Blass, a 91-year-old with severe vascular dementia. In 2016, a man 23 years her junior secretly married her five months before her death. The marriage invalidated her will, which had left her estate to her children, and her new husband inherited everything. Her daughter, Daphne Franks, has since spearheaded the Predatory Marriage UK campaign, seeking legal reform to protect vulnerable adults. Their story also highlights the limits of social and legal authorities to stop situations like this: “All appeals for guidance drew a blank. Franks consulted their GP, who advised her to inform social services. A social worker visited, but found nothing untoward—Blass was clean, well fed and didn’t seem distressed” (Moore, Anna. “Daphne Frank: the woman who lost her much-loved mother to a predatory marriage.” The Guardian, 15 Sep. 2021). This situation is replicated in The Stranger in Her House, as social workers and police detectives admit that there is nothing they can do if the person in question appears cared for. 

In the novel, Paul’s secret marriage to Gwen mirrors the Blass family’s scenario. After Gwen dies, Connie discovers her mother’s will is void and Paul, as the surviving spouse, has a legal right to the entire estate. Connie is told that because “Paul and your mother were married” (118), his actions are not illegal, dramatizing the real-life injustice that advocates like Franks are fighting to change. The novel thus is a fictional cautionary tale, illustrating the destructive personal and financial consequences of this legal anomaly, something that Marrs specifically sought to address with The Stranger in Her House.