Pressestimmen
'Little of this so-called erotica is actually erotic; "bawdy" might be a more appropriate term. Pettit and Spedding have gathered here and reproduced in facsimile several dozen rare 18th-century works in verse and prose dealing with sex, adultery, and prostitution. A few of the titles are famous (such as John Wilkes An Essay on Woman), but most will be known only to specialists, and some survive only in unique copies. Few have been reprinted in any form, so their appearance in this uniform edition is very welcome. Each of the five volumes treats a different topic, and each comes with its own introduction. One- or two-page head notes precede each selection, and endnotes (keyed to page and line numbers) provide historical background, explain allusions, and correct typographical errors. This additional material is usually helpful but often cursory; it would have been more useful had it come with bibliographical references. The facsimile reproductions are as good as the poorly printed originals allow. At least one more similar set is promised. This is an important work, not only for literary scholars but also for historians of sexuality. Despite its price, this set should find a place in every research library supporting graduate students and faculty.' - J T Lynch, CHOICE
Kurzbeschreibung
Although scholars of the British 18th century have become increasingly attuned to questions of sexuality, corporeality, and legalism, they have not heretofore had easy access to one of the period's richest funds of data: the erotica and pornography that permeated the culture. This set reprints many of the period's most notorious works, including eight from "The Fifteen Plagues of a Maiden-Head" (1707) to Harris's "List of Covent-Garden Ladies" (1786(?)-93) that resulted in highly publicized court battles and in some instances helped shape laws on censorship that survived into modernity. As they did in the 18th-century bookshop, "homosexual" and "heterosexual" works intermingle, alongside of works that claim legal, medical, or political legitimacy, and works that pretend to nothing but prurience. Virtually all the works have been out of print since the 18th century. Each volume includes an introduction, individual headnotes, facsimiles of the texts, and annotations, and the first volume includes a general introduction.
