About the Book

In America today the debate over the censorship of pornography continues to call into question the values of a modern, democratic culture. The Invention of Pornography, a groundbreaking collection of critical essays, traces the history and uses of pornography in early modern Europe, offering for the first time the historical perspective crucial to understanding current controversies in politics and the arts. Editorial Reviews In Europe between 1500 and 1800, pornography was most often a vehicle that used the shock of sex to criticize religious and political authorities, observes Hunt in her introduction to this collection of nine scholarly essays. The contributors--eight historians and one professor of French--discuss such topics as pornography's links to the development of the novel, images of the whore in French pornography, the Dutch retreat from sexual openness in the late 17th century and the libertine philosophy of John Cleland, author of Fanny Hill. One essay argues that political pornography helped to bring about the French Revolution by undermining the legitimacy of the ancien regime. Comprising the proceedings of a 1991 conference at the University of Pennsylvania, where Hunt is a professor of history, this volume aims to put current debates on pornography in a historical perspective, but too many overspecialized essays weaken its impact. Illustrated. (July)

The Invention of Pornography, 1500–1800

The Invention of Pornography, 1500–1800

Paperback

About the Book

All Editions

Share Your Thoughts