Breach-of-promise:- A man's promise of engagement to marry a woman was considered, in many jurisdictions, a legally binding contract. If the man were to subsequently change his mind, he would be said to be in "breach" of this promise and subject to litigation for damages. Breach of Promise actions were part of the standard stock-in-trade of comic writers of the period (such as Charles Dickens in his Pickwick Papers, or Gilbert and Sullivan in Trial by Jury) , but most middle- and upper-class families were reluctant to use them except in rather extreme circumstances (such as when a daughter became pregnant by a man who then refused to marry her), since they led to wide publicity being given to a scrutiny of intimate personal concerns, something which was strongly repugnant to the family feeling of the period (especially where young women were concerned).[i]

In the late 19th century, several Bills were introduced in the House of Commons, seeking to abolish the action for breach of promise, but none of them became law. [ii]

References:
[i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breach_of_promise (accessed 13Sep20)
[ii] Simon, David - Gliasyers Solicitors http://www.glaisyers.co.uk/Breach%20of%20Promise.htm