Customer Reviews

When Passion Reigned: Sex and the Victorians

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This book is a 'must read' for anyone who is a romantic. Though it indeed shows extensive historical references, and is amply illustrated with authentic items from the era, the text is thoroughly and delightfully slanted in favour of romance, innuendo, and other treasures that are all too lacking today - when, as the author aptly shows, sex can be reduced to the medical and social sciences realms.

Some of the examples are priceless - the hot-blooded Reverend Kingsley, John Henry Newman's famous opponent, pouring out his passion whilst looking for scriptural justification for the details being one of the more extensive.

Patricia Anderson's wit and cleverness are a treat. Her thesis, that the 'purity societies' and 'muscular Christian' emphasis on sports were means of conserving sperm to produce a strong generation to build the empire, is refreshing and very well tied to the 'production' ideas of the era. She also gives fascinating side glimpses into the wisdom behind the early feminism, such as opposed the Contagious Disease Act and pornography.

In all, this work has both historical merit and high entertainment value.