Sex Before Sexuality

<p> An indispensable book for historians and literary scholarsalike: a succinct introduction to the field that breaks new groundin its embrace of both the medieval and the early modern. Journal of the Northern Renaissance A vigorously advanced manifesto for reshaping the concepts andapproaches we use in studying the history of sexual regimes. Journal of Social History Essential reading for students and established researchers. Continuity and Change A groundbreaking study that transcends the boundariesconstructedbetween the medieval and the early modern. The Year's Work in English Studies An important addition to the history of sexuality European Review of History An accessible and engaging starting point for any researcher ofthe history of sex, that opens up an important scholarly space forhistories of sexual acts, identities, desires and behaviours thatgo beyond paying mere 'lip service to social constructivism. Women's History Review In reminding us of many distinct and fascinating earlier ways ofthinking about and understanding sex and sexual behaviours,Phillips and Reay rightly insist that heterosexuality is not onlynot a given but also has a history. Times Higher Education <p> Finally, a book on the history of sex that traverses the periodboundary commonly erected between medieval and early modern. Deftlyweaving together sources across a longue duree, thislucid survey is packed with examples that demonstrate the potentialmismatch between modern sexual categories and premodernexperience. Robert Mills, King's College London <p> A generation of scholars have journeyed from a history ofsexual behaviour to a history of sexuality and in the process havegiven us a new vocabulary with which to interrogate our own world.Sex before Sexuality lays out a clear map of the complexintellectual landscape, and will be essential reading for studentsand scholars. Tim Hitchcock, University of Hertfordshire <p> The authors demonstrate poignantly how to think sexhistorically in a scintillating book that synthesizes a vastscholarly landscape on premodern sexualities in the West. Helmut Puff, University of Michigan