Sex under the Empire

FRENCH LANGUAGE The French Revolution was also a sexual revolution. The end of the Church’s hold on society allowed desires to be expressed and the Empire, in this field as in many others, was completing the upheaval in the daily lives of the French. The mobilization of an army of young people changes sexuality: the use of prostitution, the appearance of condoms, an increase in rape, the trivialisation of casual encounters…. The Civil Code tries to regulate new mores, but minds, especially among the elites, are more inclined to libertine than to excessive moralization. What remains between 1799 and 1815 of the liberties conquered during the Revolution? More generally, how and with whom do we make love under the Empire? Which lover was Napoleon? What place does homosexuality occupy, beyond some known figures like Cambaceres or Fiévée? What does the erotic literature of the time reveal? French language 368 pages Vuibert Publishing