Sex and Sexuality in Georgian Britain by Mike Rendell
So far Sex and Sexuality in Georgian Britain by Mike Rendell* is my favourite book in this series. Not only he touches on aspects such as marriage and divorce, homosexuality, venereal diseases, but also on topics like rape. Only for that chapter the book is a must read, it was so compassionately written, but without judgement. He draws extensively on primary sources, such as court records, which are varied, and those offer a realistic insight into what doctors thought regarding sex, the legal system, but he looked at newspapers which showed what people really believed.
There are details on courtesans, many of their stories being told, creating a wonderfully complex picture of what life was like for them. The details on contraception and, most of all, what constitutes contraception in the first place was just as interesting. Some of those ideas would seem incredible to us today, and, in some ways, they were more open minded than us. Food is also mentioned, of course, and so is art. For a short book at about 200 pages this is packed with information and there are also many drawings in the book, some of them quite bawdy.
Lesbianism doesn’t have its own chapter, as homosexuality does, mainly because Georgians believed sex involved a penis, so without one present, it was not possible to have sex. This is the kind of intriguing and sometimes funny ideas one can find out from this book.
Sex and Sexuality in Georgian Britain by Mike Rendell
Details about the picture: –
My rating: 5/5 Stars
Would I recommend it: yes
Published by: Pen & Sword History
Year it was published: 2020
Format: Paperback
Genre(s): History
Pages: 216
About the author: Mike Rendell has written more than a dozen books, all of them about the Georgian era. He started when a fascinating cache of family papers inspired him to write The Journal of a Georgian Gentleman. With Pen & Sword his titles include In bed with the Georgians – Sex, Scandal & Satire; Trailblazing Women of the Georgian era; Pirates and Privateers in the eighteenth century; Crusoe, Castaways and Shipwrecks; Trailblazing Georgians – the unsung men who helped shape the modern world; and Sex and Sexuality in Georgian Britain.
While not writing, he spends his time talking on eighteenth century topics both in Britain and abroad, and in particular on board cruise ships. He travels extensively but his home is in Dorset.
Website & Social Media Links: Pen and Sword
*I was sent a copy of Sex and Sexuality in Georgian Britain by Mike Rendell for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.
This sounds every bit as good as the other two “sex” books you’ve reviewed. I must bump the Ancient Rome book up higher in my TBR. I think it would be a good distraction from current events.
Kelly recently posted…2-22-22
All the series is so interesting, but this one is my favourite. I have 2 more to read, I can’t wait.
I think that we have a false perception that we are more broad minded these days, in our thinking about sexuality, contraception and promiscuity etc. However most people would be surprised that there is little in our views which is new or exclusive and hasn’t been well documented from previous eras. I think some of the antics our ancestors used to get up to, would make many of our peers blush with embarrassment! —- Sounds like a ‘fun’ read, well maybe ‘interesting’ is a better word to use!! 🙂
Yvonne (@Fiction_Books) recently posted…The Girl With The Scarlet Ribbonby Suzanne GoldringBooks On TourReview
Yes, even subjects that seem very modern and new, like transvestitism, happened in Georgian period too. 🙂