A MATTER OF OBSCENITY

An engaging examination of law, literature and society

From the age of the Victorians to the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, Christopher Hilliard charts the development, interpretation and application of obscenity law in Britain. The focus is primarily on literature, although other subjects – such as theatre and, later, film are also considered.

A Matter of Obscenity explores the provisions of the 1857 Obscene Publications Act, the infamous Penguin Books trial in 1960 following the publication of DH Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and the campaigns of Mary Whitehouse. It is a detailed account of a changing and conflicted society. As well as providing an in-depth consideration of legal trials and judgments, this book considers how law and censorship influenced ordinary daily life.

Tackling issues such as policing and politics, citizenship and consent, social class and social change, Hilliard shows how questions of obscenity and censorship are related to those of authority and freedom. This is a thought-provoking and, at times, uncomfortable read.

A Matter of Obscenity draws upon an array of sources and is interwoven with a range of contemporary voices. It also offers an interesting discussion of language and the interpretation of certain words.

This will naturally appeal to those interested in legal and literary history, and will also find readers among those interested in the history of Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries more generally.