This is the only edition of Marie Stopes's pioneering sex manual - the first book to discuss sex frankly and to describe how to achieve pleasure for both sexes during intercourse. It was the first publication to advocate birth control in marriage.
* Marie Stopes is still regarded in polls as one of the fifty most influential Britons of the last century. Her own experience in marriage is inextricably linked with Married Love and her often controversial views are fully discussed.
* The brilliant introduction by historian Ross McKibbin examines Stopes's relationships and career; her attitude to women's suffrage and commitment to eugenics; her advocacy of birth control; her hostility to homosexuality; the curious style of Married Love and its combination of romantic lyricism and medical exactness; her sources; her advocacy of equality in marriage and women's role outside the home; the sensational success and immediate impact of the book on publication in 1918; the changes made to later editions and their significance.
* Uses the first edition and compares it with later ones.
* Puts the book in an international as well as national context.
* The book has sold over a million copies in Britain alone.
DESCRIPTION:
'In my own marriage I paid such a terrible price for sex-ignorance that I feel that knowledge gained at such a cost should be placed at the service of humanity.'
The book that was to become Married Love grew from Marie Stopes's conviction that the state of modern middle-class marriage was, like her own, desperate, and that the cause of this desperation was sexual unhappiness. She knew her book would 'probably electrify this country' and it remains one of the best known sex manuals ever written. It combines a lyrical evocation of marital love with a no-nonsense and detailed account of sexual intercourse and sexual pleasure that was a sensation when it was published in 1918. Stopes advocated equality in marriage and the importance of women's sexuality and sexual desire, as well as openly supporting birth control.
In this edition of Stopes's ground-breaking work, Ross McKibbin's introduction reveals fascinating insights into Stopes and prevailing attitudes to class, religion, science, and above all, sex.
* Marie Stopes is still regarded in polls as one of the fifty most influential Britons of the last century. Her own experience in marriage is inextricably linked with Married Love and her often controversial views are fully discussed.
* The brilliant introduction by historian Ross McKibbin examines Stopes's relationships and career; her attitude to women's suffrage and commitment to eugenics; her advocacy of birth control; her hostility to homosexuality; the curious style of Married Love and its combination of romantic lyricism and medical exactness; her sources; her advocacy of equality in marriage and women's role outside the home; the sensational success and immediate impact of the book on publication in 1918; the changes made to later editions and their significance.
* Uses the first edition and compares it with later ones.
* Puts the book in an international as well as national context.
* The book has sold over a million copies in Britain alone.
DESCRIPTION:
'In my own marriage I paid such a terrible price for sex-ignorance that I feel that knowledge gained at such a cost should be placed at the service of humanity.'
The book that was to become Married Love grew from Marie Stopes's conviction that the state of modern middle-class marriage was, like her own, desperate, and that the cause of this desperation was sexual unhappiness. She knew her book would 'probably electrify this country' and it remains one of the best known sex manuals ever written. It combines a lyrical evocation of marital love with a no-nonsense and detailed account of sexual intercourse and sexual pleasure that was a sensation when it was published in 1918. Stopes advocated equality in marriage and the importance of women's sexuality and sexual desire, as well as openly supporting birth control.
In this edition of Stopes's ground-breaking work, Ross McKibbin's introduction reveals fascinating insights into Stopes and prevailing attitudes to class, religion, science, and above all, sex.