As a companion piece to our edition of The
Newgate Calendar, we have compiled an anthology of
prostitution in Britain during (mostly) the 18th Century. It is in
three parts: Book 1: The Night-time Scene
has a number of essays describing the milieu; Book 2: Individual Courtesans gives the lives of eight ladies of
the Ton, and finally Book 3: Fiction has five short novels
about prostitutes.
The pieces chosen are almost all
contemporary, ranging from 1696 to 1803, and in attitude run the gamut from
picaresque approval to moral condemnation to compassion for the suffering of
the women forced into prostitution. There are also links below to some other
works on our site which are also relevant.
