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BRADSHAW, DAVID, and RACHEL POTTER, eds. Prudes on the Prowl: Fiction and Obscenity in England, 1850 to the Present Day. Oxford University Press, 2013. 240 pp. £37.50; $80.00.
This cohesive collection of essays provides a sustained narrative of the permutations of censorship of literature dealing with sexuality and religion. The linked studies will fascinate specialists, students, and lay people alike for their deft historical detail, insights, and range of views on how literature has been censored in Great Britain since 1857 with the Obscene Publications Act of that year. David Bradshaw and Rachel Potter have expertly arranged nine near-perfect chapters by seven contributors on the topic, covering the history in chronological order primarily, as well as by topics. The editors inject a huge amount of content into a concise, comprehensive package. In fact, at times one misses more historical discussion and more detailed references to archival and other sources. But this is a small quibble. There is no other book like this in censorship studies, on censorship in Great Britain, or elsewhere, that explains the history while touching on some of the most salient cases in courts and in the media in such a lucid, nuanced way. This is the history of the book at its best. By comparison, to cite just a few works in the compendium of censorship studies, on censorship in France, there is Censures: De la Bible aux larmes d'Éros; Le livre...