Books in the Ideologies of Desire series

Examines the origins of pornography in Britain and presents a comprehensive overview of women's role in the evolution of obscene fiction. Through various sources, this work tracks the shifting politics of pleasure in 18th-century Britain, charting the rise of modern, pornographic sensibilities.

Scientific research and popular opinion have favoured the idea that sexual orientations are determined at birth, but Edward Stein argues that this may be wrong. This work offers an examination of contemporary thinking on this issue.

This study investigates the place of sexuality in the writings of Andre Gide. Focusing on his work in the 1920s and 1930s, the years in which Gide wrote most openly about his homosexuality, the text shows how Gide's sexuality reflected his political interests.

This comprehensive study of Roman sexuality and the ideologies of masculinity discusses a wide range of ancient texts, arguing that native Roman concepts of masculinity did not rely on the distinction between homosexuality and heterosexuality, but were instead structured around such antitheses as free vs. slave, dominant vs. subordinate, and masculine vs. effeminate.

A collection of the author's essays on the history and development of female identity from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Throughout the book are woven themes which are constant in Castle's work: fantasy, hallucination, travesty, transgression and sexual ambiguity.