The Sex Industry and the Stage in Georgian London

After the repressions of the Puritan Protectorate, Londoners went wild. The sex industry became an enormous public presence, making London in 1700 the sex-capital of Europe. This walk starts with theatres at a time when all actresses were considered prostitutes and the stage a place for clients to find them. We pass through areas where street-walkers and bawdy houses were closely linked with playhouses. We hear about bawds who kept the houses and women who worked in them, including Nell Gywn and Sally Salisbury. We hear about homosexual Molly Houses as well as Jelly Houses, Coffee Houses and Bagnios. Links with criminals, the unscrupulous Society for the Reform of Manners and corrupt government officials are everywhere. Things begin to change when Social Reformers proclaimed that women selling sex were victims who needed rescue. Ordinary women who sold sex - orange girls, flower girls - and ordinary places of popular nightlife like dance halls are important in the story.