Carnal Commerce in Counter-Reformation Rome

Tessa Storey is a Research Associate at the Department of History, University of Leicester.

• List of figures; List of maps; List of tables; Acknowledgements; Notes on the text; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Themes and issues in literature and image; 2. The social and cultural context; 3. Debating prostitution; 4. Policing prostitution; 5. A profile of Roman prostitutes; 6. Becoming a prostitute; 7. The business of prostitution; 8. At home; 9. 'Because we are all of the flesh': prostitutes and their clients; Conclusion. Continuity and change: prostitution after the Reformations; Appendix 1. Origins of prostitutes living in Rome; Appendix 2. Notes on the registers consulted from the Archivo del Vicariato di Roma; Bibliography; Index.

Review of the hardback: 'This is an outstanding book. … Although it focuses on Rome, the work is well-contextualized both in the Italian peninsula and Europe more broadly through a masterful use of other scholars' work. The prose is delightful - erudite yet never stodgy nor pedantic. The archival base is broad and supported by other types of sources. Storey contributes to the historiography of prostitution and the Reformation in a way that will indubitably exert considerable influence on our understanding of these issues and the future work of other scholars considering these topics.' Renaissance Quarterly