Libertine London de Julie Peakman

Libertine London: Sex in the Eighteenth-Century Metropolis

Julie Peakman

An eye-opening and richly detailed history of women’s sexuality that upends entrenched perceptions of the long eighteenth century.

Libertine London investigates the sex lives of women throughout the period 1680 to 1830, known as the long eighteenth century. The book uncovers the various experiences of women, whether as mistresses, adultresses, or as participants in the sex trade. From renowned courtesans to downtrodden streetwalkers, it examines the multifaceted lives of these women within brothels, on stage, and even behind bars. Based on new research in court transcripts, asylum records, magazines, pamphlets, satires, songs, theater plays, and erotica, Libertine London reveals the gruesome treatment of women who were sexually active outside of marriage. Julie Peakman looks at sex from women’s points of view, undercutting the traditional image of the bawdy eighteenth century to expose a more sordid side, which often left women distressed, ostracized, and vilified for their sexual behavior.

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Cuprins

Prologue
1. Rambles through London
2. Street-Walkers
3. Brazen Bawds
4. Courtesans
5. Public Opinion: The Way with Whores
6. Stage Strumpets
7. Libertines and Their Fashions
8. Quacks, the Pox and the New Sexual Predators
9. Mad About the Boy
10. Rape on Trial
11. Seduction, Abduction and Adultery
12. Royal Mistresses

References
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index

Recenzii

"Libertine London is the story of sex in the capital from the Restoration to Jane Austen’s time. . . . The material is fascinating, if grotesque."

"Judging by the satirical cartoons Georgian England was one never-ending sexual playground . . . This fascinating book . . . reveals another, darker, side to this erotic Eden."

"It seems that eighteenth-century brothel owners had their own pre-Viagra cures for erectile dysfunction, aimed at men known as 'flogging cullies.' 'Flagellation was a fixation of the period. . . . The theory was a good flogging would increase the blood rush to the necessary parts,' notes historian Peakman in Libertine London: Sex in the Eighteenth-Century Metropolis. This clear-eyed study of the sex lives of women from 1680 to 1830 also notes that diarist Samuel Pepys, a man whose name is usually spoken in reverent terms as a literary giant, was 'a known groper.' That revelation didn’t seem to make it into his own diaries."

"The frequent unpleasantness of this era’s sexual life does not keep this from being a terribly intriguing book, and it’s hard to put down. . . . The wide-ranging Libertine London uses research from court transcripts, asylum records, early journalism, pamphlets, songs, plays and pornography, and includes fifty color plates and fifty halftones from the period, which add to the book’s allure. . . . A fascinating, grotesque journey that will broaden your view of the days of wigs and knee breeches. It was a lot stickier than you imagined."

"Peakman delves into the archives to uncover the sex lives of Georgian women, from streetwalkers to courtesans. Drawing on pamphlets, letters, songs, court transcripts, and asylum records, Peakman sheds light on the 'libertines' who pursued sex outside marriage, whether for love or a living. . . . Peakman knows her stuff—she has written extensively on sexuality and pornography in eighteenth-century Britain—and Libertine London is a fascinating study of the price of sexual freedom in a society that held men and women to different moral standards."

"Today’s woman is sometimes frustrated by lack of parity—in wages or opportunity. In Libertine London, Peakman, an authority on eighteenth-century sex, makes these irritations pale beside the life-threatening horrors women endured. . . . Peakman’s book abounds in stories."

"With Libertine London: Sex in the Eighteenth-Century Metropolis, Julie Peakman has given us an intimate portrayal of women’s sexual activity during the long eighteenth century, which ran from the Glorious Revolution of 1688 to Waterloo in 1815. . . . a fine introduction to the social history of the period, which aims to look at that magnificent yet squalid era through the eyes of the sex hustlers of the time."

"Drawing on a wealth of archival research, Peakman successfully brings to life how women navigated the sexual landscape of the eighteenth-century metropolis. . . . Libertine London is an enjoyable and accessible read, packed with high-quality illustrations and intriguing details. A major strength of this book is its treasure trove of primary sources, and historians of sexuality will find pickings both rich and novel in its pages. . . . An ambitious and richly textured account of eighteenth-century sexual culture which excels at putting sex in its social and economic context."

"An excellent survey of eighteenth-century British sexual culture as it unfolded in and around the English capital. Peakman long ago cemented her status as a leading expert on the history of sex and sexuality in this period, and Libertine London’s nuanced account of misogyny and misadventure demonstrates that she remains more than worthy of that title. I look forward to reading whatever comes next."

"A wide-ranging and richly illustrated guide to the fascinating sexual cultures of eighteenth-century London."

"The Georgians did not invent sex but they were the first to explore publicly all its permutations. To discover more, read Peakman's frank and enticing study."

Libertine London: Sex in the Eighteenth-Century Metropolis

Preț: 166^.27 lei

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Specificații

Notă biografică

Cuprins

Recenzii

Papetărie, jocuri, reviste

Libertine London: Sex in the Eighteenth-Century Metropolis

Preț: 166.27 lei

Specificații

Notă biografică

Cuprins

Recenzii

Preț: 166^.27 lei