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The Moral Reclaimability of Prostitutes


During the nineteenth century, there was a shift in emphasis concerning attitudes to prostitution. From being seen primarily as a moral issue, it came to be viewed largely in terms of public health. In 1837, the Registrar-General was established and 1838 saw the first official enquiry into the relationship between urban conditions and disease. Public health increasingly became seen as a legitimate sphere of government intervention, and the medical establishment was keen to claim it as a field of expertise for its own members.

Volume Contents

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    Front Matter
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    Introduction By Ingrid Sharp
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    1
    ‘Prostitution in Relation to Public Health: Forming the Introductory Chapter to the Second Edition of the Treatise on Syphilis’, Reprinted for Private Circulation, January 1851 By William Acton
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    2
    ‘Prostitution - The Need for its Reform’, Lancet, 7 November 1857, pp. 478-9
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    3
    ‘Prostitution: Its Medical Aspects’, Lancet, 13 February 1858, pp. 173-4
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    4
    ‘Prostitution: Its Medical Aspects’, Lancet,20 February 1858, pp. 198-9
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    5
    ‘Control of Prostitution’, British Medical Journal, 29 January 1870, pp. 112-13
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    6
    Letter from Josephine E. Butler to her Niece Edith Leupold, 8 March 1867, [From Liverpool], Josephine Butler Collection, University of Liverpool Library By Josephine Butler
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    7
    Poem Written by Mary Lomax and Dedicated to Josephine E. Butler, One of Two Fragments Sent by Josephine E. Butler to her Niece Edith Leupold in 1867, Josephine Butler Collection, University of Liverpool Library By Mary Lomax
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    8
    Letter from Josephine E. Butler to Mrs George Butler, 3 January 1870, [From Newcastle], Josephine Butler Collection, University of Liverpool Library By Josephine Butler
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    9
    ‘The Lovers of the Lost’, Contemporary Review, vol. 13, Jan-March 1870, pp. 16-40 By Josephine Butler
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    10
    ‘The Moral Reclaimability of Prostitutes’, Paper Read by Mrs Butler at a Conference of Delegates from Societies Promoting the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, May 1870 By Josephine Butler
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    11
    The Voice o f One Crying in the Wilderness, Originally Published as Une Voixdans le Désert, 1874. English Translation by Osmund Airy, Bristol & London, 1913 By Josephine Butler
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    12
    The Moral Forces Which Defeat the Hygienic Regulation o f Social Vice, London, Dyer Brothers, 1882 By Joseph Edmondson
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    13
    ‘Women Physicians and the Regulation of Vice’, Dawn, May 1895, p. 13 By Elizabeth Blackwell
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    14
    ‘Medical Responsibility in Relation to the Contagious Diseases Acts: Address to Medical Women’, an Address Given to a Meeting of Medical Women, in London, 27 April 1897 By Elizabeth Blackwell
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    The Martyrs of Hell’s Highway. A Novel with a Purpose, with preface and appendix by Mrs. Josephine E. Butler, London, H.R. Allenson, 1896 By H. Elwyn Thomas
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      I. Mr. Liberton
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      II. The Libertine at Work
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      III. The Liberttne’s Methods
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      IV. The Victim in the Snare
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      V. The Tears of Outraged Childhood
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      The Veil Lifted
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      Mrs. Traitoress and the Child
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      A Child Longing for Death
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      A Fiendish Woman’s Cruelty
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      “Dropping into Darkness and Nothingness”
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      “The Imitation of Christ” Studied under Strange Circumstances
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      The Dead Child Speaks so the Old Man
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      In the Hidden Depths
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      A Night’s Experience
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      Where is God?
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      A Ray of Light in the Darkness
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      The Sound of Breaking Hearts
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      Madness and Despair
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      Unutterable Sympathy
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      Told in Siient Darkness
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      Liza’s Story
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      Life not Worth Living
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      The Curse Partly Lifted
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      Read it, and Give ii a Name
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    16
    Letter from Josephine E. Butler to Miss Forsaith, 28 February 1898, Josephine Butler Collection, University of Liverpool Library By Josephine Butler
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    17
    ‘A Word to Christian Sceptics’, Storm-Bell, November 1898, pp. 150-3 By Josephine Butler
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    18
    ‘Memories’, Storm-Bell, June 1900, pp. 307-11 By Josephine Butler
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    19
    Letter from Josephine E. Butler to ‘Beloved’ Miss Forsaith, Saturday, 1 April 1905, Josephine Butler Collection, University of Liverpool Library By Josephine Butler
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    20
    Letter from Josephine E. Butler to Miss Forsaith and Harriet, 2 April 1905, [From Wooler], Josephine Butler Collection, University of Liverpool Library By Josephine Butler