A Matter of Obscenity

“A History Today Book of the Year”“A fascinating study of censorship in modern Britain”—Hannah Rose Woods, History Today“A Matter of Obscenity: The Politics of Censorship in Modern England refashions developments in the law into a lucid and engaging cultural history.”—Thomas J. Sojka, Los Angeles Review of Books“The description of obscenity trials famous and less well-known is superbly rendered, as is Hilliard’s analysis of the ever-changing link between social morality and the law”—Matthew D’Ancona, Tortoise Media“A Matter of Obscenity is an informative, even-handed and lucid study of British censorship in the 20th century. It is highly recommended, wherever you draw your personal lines regarding the division between the acceptable and unacceptable.”—Alexander Adams, Spiked“Christopher Hilliard’s A Matter of Obscenity is an engaging read, full of compelling details about the authors and publishers accused of trafficking in obscenity and about the politicians and judges who claimed to know it when they saw it”—Emily Rutherford, History Today“Hilliard offers a fascinating romp through pornography, gangster comics, naughty postcards, avant garde plays, lewd cinema and modernist literature to demonstrate how ‘obscenity law reflected uncertainties about what could be said – and, crucially, how and to whom – in a changing society”—Alecia Simmonds, Literature and History

Christopher Hilliard is professor of history at the University of Sydney. His books include The Littlehampton Libels: A Miscarriage of Justice and a Mystery about Words in 1920s England and To Exercise Our Talents: The Democratization of Writing in Britain.