"Superb. . . . Full of fresh material, shrewd analysis and sound judgment... Horowitz's enthusiasm and sense of fun are infectious." –
Los Angeles Times
"A fine new study of the debates over sexual knowledge in 19th century America. . . . Horowitz is a rigorous and supple thinker on inflammatory issues." –
The New York Times Book Review "Completely fascinating. . . . Highly entertaining and accessible." –
The Women's Review of Books "A highly readable book that maintains high standards of scholarship and integrity." –
San Francisco Chronicle "Impressive and compelling . . . an intricate tapestry of nineteenth-century American sexual culture that fully reveals the power and complexity of sexuality and its profound impact on every facet of life."–
Booklist (starred review)
"In letting us eavesdrop on 19th-century discussions of sex, Horowitz demonstrates that while the language has certainly changed, many of the arguments have not." –
Providence Journal "In Helen Horowitz's wide-ranging account of the culture wars of the nineteenth century, anxieties that we live with today–about pornography, contraception, abortion, and free expression–turn out to have surprising histories." –Linda K. Kerber, author of
No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies "Entertaining. . . . The huge number of philosophies and personalities that played a role in the debate, and made a foundation for our current sexual ideas, are brilliant distilled." –
The Lafayette Times "Moves us beyond the old binary of Victorian lights and shadows, of prudery versus passion, to show the interwoven complexity of our first national conversation about sex." –Patricia Cline Cohen, author of
The Murder of Helen Jewett
