Aphrodisiacs, Fertility and Medicine in Early Modern England

Jennifer Evans

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English

Boydell & Brewer
17 May 2019

History; British & Irish history; Early modern history: c 1450 to c 1700; History of medicine

Series: Royal Historical Society Studies in History New Series

An investigation into aphrodisiacs challenges pre-conceived ideas about sexuality during this period. It was common knowledge in early modern England that sexual desire was malleable, and could be increased or decreased by a range of foods - including artichokes, oysters and parsnips. This book argues that these aphrodisiacs wereused not simply for sexual pleasure, but, more importantly, to enhance fertility and reproductive success; and that at that time sexual desire and pleasure were felt to be far more intimately connected to conception and fertilitythan is the case today. It draws on a range of sources to show how, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, aphrodisiacs were recommended for the treatment of infertility, and how men and women utilised them to regulate their fertility. Via themes such as gender, witchcraft and domestic medical practice, it shows that aphrodisiacs were more than just sexual curiosities - they were medicines which operated in a number of different ways unfamiliar now, and their use illuminates popular understandings of sex and reproduction in this period.

Dr Jennifer Evans is a Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Hertfordshire.

By: Jennifer Evans
Imprint: Boydell & Brewer
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Volume: v. 89
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 366g
ISBN: 9780861933501
ISBN 10: 0861933508
Series: Royal Historical Society Studies in History New Series
Pages: 225
Publication Date: 17 May 2019
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction Texts, Readers and Markets The Reproductive and the Infertile Body Provoking Lust and Promoting Conception Enchanted Privities and Provokers of Lust Aphrodisiacs, Miscarriage and Menstruation Conclusion Bibliography

Jennifer Evans is a senior lecturer in History at the University of Hertfordshire. Her academic research is focused on the body, medicine and gender and covers the period 1550-1750\. To date her research has examined the understanding of infertility and its treatments in early modern England.

Reviews for Aphrodisiacs, Fertility and Medicine in Early Modern England

[P]rovides new insights into early modern sexuality and medical thought and, importantly, the intersections between the two. Evans' book will be of great interest to early modern cultural historians, historians of the family, of sexuality, of demographics, of medicine and of the supernatural. * CROMOHS * A short and sweet book on the cultural place of aphrodisiacs in early modern England . Evans has made a lively contribution to the wider scholarship on sexuality, gender, and fertility. * BULLETIN OF THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE * An engaging and thorough analysis of the changing role of aphrodisiacs in early modern England. * PARERGON * This is a highly readable, thought-provoking account of the role aphrodisiacs played in England from c. 1600-1800 in ensuring not just a lusty appetite for sex but also a healthy conception and pregnancy. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *