Get Free Shipping on orders over $49
Desire : A History of European Sexuality - Anna Clark

Desire

A History of European Sexuality

By: Anna Clark

eText | 31 July 2026 | Edition Number 3

At a Glance

eText


$89.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $22.44 with

 or 

Available: 31st July 2026

Preorder. Online access available after release.

Why choose an eTextbook?

Instant Access *

Purchase and read your book immediately

Read Aloud

Listen and follow along as Bookshelf reads to you

Study Tools

Built-in study tools like highlights and more

* eTextbooks are not downloadable to your eReader or an app and can be accessed via web browsers only. You must be connected to the internet and have no technical issues with your device or browser that could prevent the eTextbook from operating.

A sweeping survey of sexuality in Europe from the ancient Greeks to the present, Desire: A History of European Sexuality follows changing attitudes to two major concepts of sexual desire—desire as dangerous, polluting, and disorderly, and desire as creative, transcendent, even revolutionary—through the major turning points of European history.

Chronological in structure, and wide ranging in scope, Desire addresses such topics as sex in ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, sexual contact and culture clash in Spain and colonial Mesoamerica, new attitudes toward sexuality in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and sex in Bolshevik Russia and Nazi Germany. The book introduces the concept of "twilight moments" to describe activities seen as shameful or dishonorable, but which were tolerated when concealed by shadows, and integrates the history of heterosexuality with same-sex desire, as well as exploring the emotions of love and lust alongside the politics of sex and personal experiences.

This new edition has been updated to include more on trans histories and sexual identities in the context of the recent multiplication of sexual and gender identities. It also brings in more on materialism, embodiment, and the history of emotion. In addition to the new chapter on imperialism from the second edition, the third edition now includes an additional chapter on early medieval Christianity and Islam, concentrating on the tensions between mysticism and regulation. The book concludes with a new chapter that explores how activists from the 1970s onward linked sexual pleasure to bodily care, particularly in the contexts of abortion, AIDS, and gender-affirming trans healthcare.

Drawing on a rich array of sources, including poetry, novels, pornography, and film, as well as court records, autobiographies, and personal letters, and written in a lively, engaging style, Desire remains an essential resource for scholars and students of the history of European sexuality, as well as women's and gender history, social and cultural history, and LGBTQ history.

on
Desktop
Tablet
Mobile

Other Editions and Formats

Paperback

Published: 31st July 2026

Available: 31st July 2026

Preorder. Will ship when available.

More in European History

The Great Gamble : The Soviet War in Afghanistan - Gregory Feifer

eBOOK

Life in a Medieval Castle : Medieval Life - Joseph Gies

eBOOK

RRP $25.99

$20.89

20%
OFF