This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains the practical process and discipline of the early Quaker marriage approbation be discussed at length, considering the various issues which arose as couples sought marriage approbation from the meetings. It explores the theological rationale behind the early marriage discipline, as expressed primarily by Fox and Fell, will be further analysed. The chapter explore how the practical and theoretical came to fruition and were demonstrated through the marriage of Fox and Fell. After Winthrop S. Hudson 's journal article was published, Quaker historian Henry Cadbury wrote a responsive article entitled An Obscure Chapter of Quaker History, published in the same journal later in 1944. Fox's partner in ministry, and eventual partner in marriage, Margaret Fell, though generally considered the mother of Quakerism in Quaker tradition, has been largely underrepresented in her own right within historical scholarship.