Prostitution And Victorian Social Reform
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
At the intersection of morality, medicine, and politics in nineteenth-century Britain stands one of the era's most contentious battles: the campaign to repeal the Contagious Diseases Acts. Prostitution and Victorian Social Reform chronicles the rise and ultimate triumph of a remarkable social purity movement, tracing how reformers, feminists, and religious campaigners united to challenge state-sanctioned regulation of prostitution — a system that subjected working-class women to brutal police surveillance and compulsory medical examination. Paul McHugh presents a meticulous account of the repeal campaign, illuminating the political strategies, moral arguments, and personal sacrifices of its key figures, most notably the indefatigable Josephine Butler, whose crusade became a landmark moment in the history of women's rights. McHugh's work stands as a significant contribution to Victorian social history, illustrating how the boundaries of gender, class, and state power were fiercely contested in an age of reform. With rigorous archival research and clear, authoritative prose, he argues that the repeal movement was far more than a footnote in public health policy — it was a crucible in which modern feminist politics were forged. Part of the prestigious Croom Helm Social History Series, this study leaves the reader questioning just how much the tensions between social control and individual liberty have truly been resolved.
Author: Paul Mchugh
Format: Hardback
Published: 1980, Croom Helm London
Genre: British & Irish history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
At the intersection of morality, medicine, and politics in nineteenth-century Britain stands one of the era's most contentious battles: the campaign to repeal the Contagious Diseases Acts. Prostitution and Victorian Social Reform chronicles the rise and ultimate triumph of a remarkable social purity movement, tracing how reformers, feminists, and religious campaigners united to challenge state-sanctioned regulation of prostitution — a system that subjected working-class women to brutal police surveillance and compulsory medical examination. Paul McHugh presents a meticulous account of the repeal campaign, illuminating the political strategies, moral arguments, and personal sacrifices of its key figures, most notably the indefatigable Josephine Butler, whose crusade became a landmark moment in the history of women's rights. McHugh's work stands as a significant contribution to Victorian social history, illustrating how the boundaries of gender, class, and state power were fiercely contested in an age of reform. With rigorous archival research and clear, authoritative prose, he argues that the repeal movement was far more than a footnote in public health policy — it was a crucible in which modern feminist politics were forged. Part of the prestigious Croom Helm Social History Series, this study leaves the reader questioning just how much the tensions between social control and individual liberty have truly been resolved.