Secret history of sex: welcome to the molly house
In the 18th century the secret world of the molly house was a place for gay men to socialise, cross-dress and role-play. But it was also a place of danger and treachery.
In the 18th century the secret world of the molly house was a place for gay men to socialise, cross-dress and role-play. But it was also a place of danger and treachery.
Dr James Graham was a sex therapist, an 18th century showman, a gentleman of the Enlightenment and an “emperor of quacks”. He was also the inventor of an extraordinary fertility sex aid: the Grand State Celestial Bed.
How a liberal German sex pioneer founded a notorious scientific sex institute and fell foul of the Nazis.
…and the lessons I learnt in the process.
Curated curiosities that glibly sidestep the complexity, diversity and controversy of the British Empire.