Harlots, whores & hackabouts : a history of sex for sale / Kate Lister.

  • Lister, Kate, 1981-
Date:
2021
  • Books

About this work

Also known as

Harlots, whores and hackabouts

Description

The history of selling sex is a hidden one, its practitioners a 'damnable crew' pushed to the margins of history. Harlots, Whores & Hackabouts redresses the balance, revealing the history of sex for sale, from medieval back street to Wild West saloon, and from the brothel to state bedroom. This enthralling history is brought to life by Kate Lister's witty and authoritative text, and illuminated by a rich archive of photographs, artworks and objects. Structured thematically in broadly chronological order, the book introduces a lively cast of complex and entertaining characters operating in an array of different periods and settings. The Mesopotamian harlot Shamhat was powerful and respected, able to civilize the wild man Enkidu through her charms. In medieval London Elizabeth Moryng serviced clergy under the guise of an embroidery business, though was eventually jailed for being a prolific procuress and bawd. In Renaissance Venice the courtesan Veronica Franco published her poetry, rubbed shoulders with royalty and founded a charity for other courtesans. In the hedonistic floating world of Edo, Japan, kabuki actresses and then geishas entertained and pleasured their patrons. Three men were hanged in 18th-century London for buggery after being found in the Molly House of Margaret Clap. And at the turn of the century, in New Orleans, Lulu White ran Mahogany Hall, a four-storey building that housed up to forty sex workers. Lister's illuminating tales invite readers to look, listen and reconsider everything they thought they knew about the world's oldest profession.

Publication/Creation

London : Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2021.

Physical description

255 pages : illustrations (some colour) ; 24 cm

Bibliographic information

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Introduction: Tales from Gropecunt Lane -- In service of the Gods: sex in the ancient world -- Toads and she-wolves: selling sex in the classical world -- The geese that laid the golden egg: sex work in medieval London -- The honest courtesans: selling sex in Renaissance Europe -- The pleasures of the moon: the floating world of Edo Japan -- Molly houses and Mary-Anns: men selling sex in Regency Britain -- Master of the plum blossoms: sex in the Qing dynasty -- The great social evil: prostitution in the 19th century -- Soiled doves and jailbirds: sex for sale in the Land of the Free -- Maisons de Tolérance: sex and the Belle Époque -- The prophylactic dicatorship: sex in wartime -- Conclusion: The fight back.

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatus
    History of Medicine
    TV.AL
    Open shelves

Permanent link

Identifiers

ISBN

  • 9780500252444
  • 0500252440