Product Description

Discover the secret, untold history of selling sex, one basic aspect of human civilisation that co-evolved with it since its beginnings, and yet it remains misunderstood, suppressed and distorted. Kate Lister’s narrates the history and evolution of prostitution, through the eyes and testimonies of the sex workers themesleves, offering a truly global history, from Babylon to Classical Greece and Rome to the hedonistic cultures of China and Japan, the high-class Belle Époque brothels and the brothels destined for soldiers during the World Wars.

The authoritative and witty text is illuminated by a rich archive of photographs, artworks, and unusual objects offering for the first time insight into sex workers’ lives, challenging assumptions and inviting readers to look, listen, and reconsider everything they thought they knew about the “world’s oldest profession.”