Women for Hire

Majestic, path-breaking… The first systematic investigation of the political and economic aspects of the French sex trade. -- Francine du Plessix Gray * New York Review of Books *
A challenging and provocative book which remains the essential study in its field… Corbin amply demonstrates the centrality of prostitution to the social history of modern France. -- James F. McMillan * Times Literary Supplement *
Illuminating… An abundance of superb data enables [Corbin] to treat an often murky and always emotive topic with unusual rigor and detachment. -- Linda Colley * London Review of Books *
An engrossing story full of intimate details about the actual lives of women. -- Frances Gouda * Women’s Review of Books *
This is a thorough, fascinating account of the lives of prostitutes, the workings of prostitution as a business and the continuing debates in France over the application of the ‘French system’ of regulation. This translation from the French Les filles de noce is a welcome contribution to the English historiography, providing an excellent source for those working on numerous dimensions of modern French history. -- Timothy Baycroft * Modern and Contemporary France [UK] *