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Book description
A visit to any library will prove
that the lively print culture of the eighteenth century gave rise to many
important literary works that are still read today. But it was the same
publishing industry, and even the same presses, that supplied a thriving
underground trade in erotic writing and art. These texts and images are, as
you might expect, rarely found on library shelves.
Although difficult to obtain these texts are, in academic terms, impossible
to ignore. Scholars in a number of disciplines have come to see the erotic
publications of this period as an incredibly valuable source of information
on eighteenth-century British culture. The writings embody the Enlightenment
attitude to sexuality, reflecting wider changes to the conception of the
individual in social and biological terms, which are in turn related to the
political and scientific events taking place at that time
This new edition provides a collection of writings which, together with our
edition Eighteenth-Century British Erotica Part I (2002), forms an
unrivalled resource for eighteenth century studies. A special feature of
Part II is a whole volume dedicated to homosexuality which stands to become
a central source for gay studies and queer theory in the years ahead. The
first four volumes comprise a rich variety of topics, from prostitution to
flatulence, painting a colourful picture of the real and imaginative worlds
inhabited by the people of eighteenth-century Britain. One title worth
singling out for mention is Memoirs of Fanny Hill (1750). This is
John Cleland's own reworking of Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure
(1748-9) and it has never before been republished.
The new set will be of interest to students of eighteenth century culture,
queer theory, history of sexuality and book history:
- primary resource texts unavailable in any other modern edition
- most original texts survive in fewer than five copies
- digitally cleaned up facsimile reproduction
- volume introductions, headnotes
- general introduction and consolidated index
In recent years the attention of scholars has been increasingly drawn to
the literary sub-culture of printed erotica that emerged in the eighteenth
century, and it has come to be recognised that these writings can offer a
whole new perspective on eighteenth-century British life. Few of the
original publications are available outside specialist collections however,
and Pickering & Chatto Publishers are very pleased to be able to present a
substantial selection of representative works that will provide material for
research and contribute to the growing body of criticism.
The first three volumes move chronologically through the century on subjects
such as prostitution, flagellation, flatulence, cross dressing, dildos and
other sex toys. The works tend to fall into distinct categories based on
legitimate genres like medical treatises, biographies and religious satires,
some of which were used as platforms for anti-Quaker or anti-Catholic
polemic. Authors often appropriated mainstream literary and artistic works
and used them as frameworks for titilating content, creating the
characteristic blend of low and high culture that typifies the erotica of
this period. A scatalogical imitation of Milton and a narrative derived from
Hogarth’s engravings are just two examples of this, giving a hint of the
sheer variety and breadth of the items in this set.
Volume four contains Memoirs of Fanny Hill (1750), John Cleland's own
revision of his Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1748-9), the best
known and most durable pornographic work from the period. This version of
the Fanny Hill story differs from its namesake in many interesting ways, and
has never been published in a modern edition. Along with Memoirs of Fanny
Hill comes a set of engravings by the highly regarded artist Hubert
Gravelot and an anonymous whore biography, The Genuine History of Mrs.
Sarah Prydden (1723), which anticipates Cleland's novel.
The final volume is devoted exclusively to materials concerned with male and
female homosexuality. There is a broad seam of satire in this section, and
among the irreverent works included are personal attacks on public figures
rumoured to be homosexual, among them Queen Anne and her servant Abigail
Masham, the sculptor Anne Damer, and the playwrights David Garrick and
Samuel Foote. [Pickering & Chatto]
About the author
Patrick Spedding is with the School of Literary, Visual and
Performance Studies, Faculty of Arts, Monash University.
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