Common prostitutes and ordinary citizens: commercial sex in London, 1885-1960

Book synopsis: On the brightly-lit street corners of Piccadilly and in the dark alleyways of Stepney, in public parks and private flats, in nightclubs and cafes, prostitution was intertwined with London's society, culture, and landscape. As public and political attitudes toward commercial sex hardened, uneven and imperfect attempts to repress prostitution dramatically shaped London's commercial sex industry. Common Prostitutes and Ordinary Citizens examines how laws, policies and attitudes toward prostitution were translated into street-level reality, explores how women who sold sex navigated a climate of repression, and charts the complex dimensions of the underground sexual economy in the metropolis. Laite puts forward the controversial argument that laws directed against prostitution tended to do more harm than good; they encouraged the growth of vice syndicates, promoted illicit real estate and came down the hardest upon the women who worked as prostitutes. By examining the administration of the law and its consequences and by uncovering the lives and experiences of prostitutes, this book offers a compelling new look at the history of commercial sex in modern London