The Invention of Pornography: Obscenity and the Origins of Modernity, 1500-1800

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this groundbreaking collection of essays, historians and literary theorists examine how, between 1500 and 1800, pornography emerged as a literary practice and a category of knowledge intimately linked to the formative moments of Western modernity and the democratization of culture. The first modern writers and engravers of pornography were part of the demimonde of heretics, freethinkers and libertines who constituted the dark underside of the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. From the start, early modern European pornography used the shock of sex to test the boundaries and regulation of obscene behavior and expression in the public and private sphere. As such, pornography criticized and even subverted political authorities as well as social and sexual relations.

SYNOPSIS

collection of ten essays tracing the history and various uses of pornography in early modern Europe

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

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)

Library Journal

This book, whose contents were presented at a conference at the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, provides insight into social and political history not often examined by the historian. The reader is offered nine essays, an introduction, an extensive bibliography, and notes dealing with the source materials. The essays, which trace the evolution of pornography from 1500 to 1800--that is, from its infancy through the French Revolution--reinforce the thesis that pornography evolved as a political tool. The book is replete with drawings representing the originals found in the press of the period under discussion and supporting the narratives. The work is too specialized for general library collections but nonetheless serves a valuable service for scholars.-- Arthur K. Steinberg, Livingstone Coll., Salisbury, N.C.

Booknews

Distributed by MIT Press. Ten essays trace the history and various uses of pornography in early modern Europe, offering historical perspective that sheds light on current issues of censorship. Among the themes is the linking of pornography as a literary practice with Western modernity and the democratization of culture. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

New York Times Book Review