Domestic Dangers: Women, Words, and Sex in Early Modern London

'What else is woman but a foe to friendship ...a domestic danger.' These words, taken from a biblical commentary by St John Chrysostom, are frequently quoted in early modern literature, showing that sexual morality was central to the patriarchal society of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. In this fascinating and original book, Laura Gowing considers what gender difference meant in the practice of daily life, examining the working of...