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Simon Szreter is Reader in History and Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. His previous publications include Fertility, Class and Gender in Britain 1860-1940 (Cambridge University Press, 1996) and Changing Family Size in England and Wales 1891-1911: Place, Class and Demography (co-editor, Cambridge University Press, 2001). In 2009 he was awarded the Viseltear Prize of the American Public Health Association for contributions to the history of public health. He is also a founding member of the History and Policy Network. Kate Fisher is Senior Lecturer in History, University of Exeter. Her highly acclaimed first book, Birth Control, Sex and Marriage in Britain, 1918-1960 (2006), won national and international awards including the RHS Whitfield Prize. In 2007 she was shortlisted for Times Higher Academic Author of the Year Award.
'A warm and enjoyable read, at times heartbreaking and at others erotic, its appeal goes beyond its value as an academic text. It is an impressive venture that captures what otherwise might have remained a forgotten part of our sexual history.' Petra Boynton, Times Higher Education 'I can scarcely recall reading a book which gives a richer, more comprehensive - and ultimately, more deeply moving - account of the human experience.' Simon Callow, The Guardian, in which Sex Before the Sexual Revolution was selected as 'Book of the Week' 'A brilliant new book ... based on the intimate experiences of people from the middle and working classes whose adolescence, marriage and childrearing took place during and after the period between the two world wars ... provides a glimpse into an era when sex was not spoken about.' The Daily Express 'A peek through the curtains of the pre-Sixties bedroom, this convincing and gripping social history provides undeniable evidence that sex did not start in the Sixties.' Oliver James '... an exciting, pioneering study ... Szreter and Fisher advance a refreshingly candid account of English sex, love, and marriage and present the fascinating oral history material to its best advantage. In short, this is an excellent book which deserves to attract a very large readership.' Angus McLaren, Emeritus Professor, University of Victoria 'A surprising number of people think that Philip Larkin was right and the British didn't discover sex until the 1960s ... This book goes further than any other in breaking the silence and presenting middle and working class people who married between the 1930s and 1950s talking frankly about their sexual experience, revealing that sexual intercourse really did happen before 1963 - and some people even enjoyed it.' Pat Thane, Director, Centre for Contemporary British History, Institute of Historical Research 'A work of deeply engaging and distinguished scholarship, based on fascinating interviews and other primary data, which bring the last century to life in a vivid and often touching manner. In doing so, the authors shatter many myths about intimate life during previous generations and provide the context for the development of modern British sexuality ... a major contribution to social history and to the history of sexology. This book should be required reading for all serious students and researchers.' Brett Kahr, Honorary Visiting Professor, Roehampton University, and author of Sex and the Psyche 'An accessibly written yet theoretically nuanced analysis of oral histories from the generation that came of age before the sexual revolution ... Drawing on the touching, sometimes funny, and occasionally sad oral histories of working and middle class men and women, Sex Before the Sexual Revolution reveals an untold story about how, for some married couples, silence, inhibition, and a shared commitment to privacy were core elements of the erotic, and love was demonstrated both through sexual intimacy and, at times, by deliberate abstinence.' Jennifer Hirsch, Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University
