Publisher’s Synopsis:
In Sex and Sexuality in Victorian Britain, take a peek beneath the bedsheets of nineteenth-century Britain in this affectionate, informative and fascinating look at sex and sexuality during the reign of Queen Victoria. It examines the prevailing attitudes towards male and female sexual behaviour, and the ways in which these attitudes were often determined by those in positions of power and authority. It also explores our ancestors’ ingenious, surprising, bizarre and often entertaining solutions to the challenges associated with maintaining a healthy sex life.
Did the people in Victorian times live up to their stereotypes when it came to sexual behaviour? This book will answer this question, as well as looking at fashion, food, science, art, medicine, magic, literature, love, politics, faith and superstition through a new lens, leaving the reader uplifted and with a new regard for the ingenuity and character of our great-great-grandparents.
Edition:
E-ARC (Net Galley)
My Thoughts:
Upon first starting this book, I felt a little wary of it. Although it is true that I requested it from the publisher, I didn’t realize at the time that I was requesting a book of less than 150 pages. I don’t feel like you can explore much of anything in so few pages – especially something as broad and complex as sex and/or sexuality. After reading the book, I feel that my wariness was justified. 144 pages just isn’t enough. There is information, but it all feels cursory. It seems like more page-space was devoted to historical anecdotes than actual information or research.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed what information there was, but I feel like for the price of the book, there should be a little more. I enjoyed the anecdotes, but I enjoy verifiable information even more. It also bothered me a bit that very little information actually included cited sources. In this type of book I sort of expect citations to be found all over the place, but what you get here is the occasional parenthetical citation, but more often either no citations at all or something along the lines of ‘a simple Google search will show.’ That doesn’t really do it for me.
Fenn just didn’t quite delve as deep as I was expecting. It was interesting, sure, but there wasn’t a whole lot of information there that felt like I couldn’t have just as easily internet searched – which as I mentioned, the author herself pointed out on more than one occasion.
About the Author (from the publisher’s website):
VIOLET FENN has always been fascinated by human behaviour. She specialises in frank and straightforward investigations into the wilder areas of sexual practices and the changing cultural attitudes towards sex and mortality. She was once turned down for a job at an undertaker’s for being ‘too interested in death’.
She lives in Shropshire with her children, a menagerie of pets and endless beautiful but pointless clutter. She firmly believes that black is the happiest colour and that there is no such thing as too much red lipstick.
Rating:
If you want short and sweet, with a bit of surface information, check this book out. Fenn writes well, and she’s fairly humorous, so if that’s your thing maybe you’ll enjoy it more than I did!
Sex and Sexuality in Victorian Britain By Violet Fenn Pen & Sword History History , Nonfiction ISBN: 9781526756688 Expected Publication: March 30, 2020 Hardcover 144 Pages Author's Website: https://sexdeathrocknroll.com/ Order your copy here: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Violet-Fenn/a/3720
