Prostitution in the 19th Century

Suppose you are a student and want to write a paper or thesis on a topic relating to the history of prostitution. Or you are an author and want to write a historic novel on the subject. This edited (hand)book will be a good basis to start getting ideas and reducing those to a feasible project. And th e best thing is that the e-book version is now freely available online (= open access) via this link . What is the book about and what are my observations on it? "Selling Sex in the City offers a worldwide analysis of prostitution that takes a long historical approach which covers a time period from 1600 to the 2000s."   (Source: Brill)

Dr. Julia Laite  recently published a true story about a sixteen-year-old girl, Lydia Harvey, who ends up in prostitution. (1) The story is set in 1910 when Lydia receives an attractive offer to travel abroad and earn a lot of money. The New Zealand girl, who longs for adventure and the chance to travel, gladly accepts the offer. The rise of commercial steamboats during that period makes journeys to other parts of the world easier. Lydia leaves her home country, takes the boat to Buenos Aires, and eventually ends up in London. Despite the traveling, life does not turn out as she had hoped. She even becomes a crown witness in a British court case against her procurers. Due to the extensive (archival) research, this book offers a real insight into the world of international prostitution at the beginning of the twentieth century. Different angles One of the things I enjoyed about this book is that it tells the story from different angles, not just from Lydia's.  (2) Each chapte...