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by Haley Ruffner (Editor)
Published anonymously in 1729, Hell Upon Earth: Or the Town in an Uproar. Occasion'd by the Late Horrible Scenes of Forgery, Perjury, Street-Robbery, Murder, Sodomy, and Other Shocking Impieties is an early example of a conduct book. It was originally sold in London for the price of one shilling. The beginning of the work details the impieties that take place by the hour in an average day, followed by a more thorough look into the nuances of various sins, their origins, and their effects on society. Satan's Harvest Home: or the Present State of Whorecraft, Adultery, Fornication, Procuring, Pimping, Sodomy, and the Game of Flatts, (Illustrated by an Authentick and Entertaining Story), And Other Satanic Works, Daily Propagated in This Good Protestant Kingdom was published anonymously in 1749. It appeared as a pamphlet in London and covered, as is evident from its lengthy title, various aspects of sexual misconduct purportedly rampant in England. The section regarding the "Game of Flatts" is one of the first historical references to lesbianism in England. "The Petit Maitre," a poem condemning men who dress like women, appears at the end of the work. These two important and interesting eighteenth-century works are edited and introduced by Haley Ruffner.
