Suggested Reading
We have compiled a list of suggested reading about Josephine Butler, sex work and related matters. We are always looking for additional material, so please feel free to get in touch if there’s any reading you’d like to recommend. If you notice any errors in the recommendations , please do let us know via email or our contact page.
Categories
Please select one of the categories below:
About Josephine Butler
Online
Meet Josephine: an influencer for over 100 years Blog by Mary Holmes
Books
Josephine Butler by Jane Jordan, John Murray, 2001
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Patron Saint of Prostitutes Josephine Butler and a Victorian Scandal by Helen Mathers, 2014
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A Singular Iniquity by Glen Petrie, 1971
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Personal Reminiscences of a Great Crusade. C1867 by Jos. E. Butler
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‘Josephine Butler', the Forgotten Saint by Joseph Williamson, 1977
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'Josephine Butler' edited by George W. and Lucy A. Johnson
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'Josephine Butler' a Guide to her Life Faith and Social Action by Rod Garner 2009
Various of Josephine Butler's pamphlets are now in print and are well worth finding and reading, for example:
'Social Purity' by Josephine Elizabeth Butler, first published 1879
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'Some Thoughts on the Present Aspect of the Crusade against the State Regulation of Vice'. by Josephine Elizabeth Butler, 1874
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'Truth Before Everything' by Josephine Elizabeth Butler, 1897
By people with lived experience of sex work
Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights by Juno Mac & Molly Smith
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Playing the Whore - Melissa Gira Grant
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Sex Work Matters: Exploring Money, Power, and Intimacy in the Sex Industry edited by Melissa Hope Ditmore, Antonia Levy and Alys Willman - this book is a combination of lived experience and academic analysis.
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A Whore's Manifesto: An Anthology of Writing and Artwork by Sex Workers
Book by Clementine Radics and Kay Kassirer
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It’s What I Know - An online photo-story of about one person’s experience of selling sex in London written collaboratively.
Acts and Legislation
Research, Studies and Reports
Sex workers’ experiences of management and other third parties - Dr Lilith Brouwers
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Beyond the Gaze - Safety and Privacy for Online Sex Workers
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Sex Work National Police Guidance (Feb 2024)
Other Recommended Reading
​​Prostitution Regulation and Public Health: The Contagious Diseases Acts of Britain by Jessica Sealey
Sex at the Margins: Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry by Laura Maria Agustín)
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The Curious History of Sex by Kate Lister
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The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey: A True Story of Sex, Crime and the Meaning of Justice by Julia Laite
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The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
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West End Girls by Barbara Tate
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Harlots, Whores and Hackabouts by Kate Lister
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A Victorian Feminist Christian by Lisa Severine Nolland (2004)
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Prostitution, Women and Misuse of the Law – the fallen daughters of Eve: Helen J. Self (2003)
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Female Lives, Moral States by Anne Summers (2000)
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The Natashas by Victor Malarek