Classified: The Secret History of the Personal Column

(Paperback)

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Description

A wonderfully quirky social history of modern Britain 'Lonely Young Officer, up to his neck in Flanders mud, would like to correspond with young lady (age 18-20), cheery and good looking.' 1916 'Discreet, attractive couple 21 and 25 wish to meet couples and singles 21-35 for exciting and fun-loving adult relationships. Open-minded but not way out. No prejudices. Full length photo, address, and detailed letter assures same.' 1969 From the 'sporty' girls and 'artistic' boys of the Edwardian era to the 'lonely' soldiers of the Great War, the marriage bureaux of the fifties, and on to the internet dating sites of today, Classified tells the story of those who used personal ads to search for love, friendship, marriage and adventure.

Reviews

a fascinating portrait of changing social mores, from Thirties pornography and Seventies wife-swapping through to modern internet dating * Mail on Sunday *
This trawl through the passions and peculiarities of the lonely and desperate is fascinating and surprisingly moving in its humanity * Waterstones Books Quarterly *
A lively, surprising, sometimes saucy story * The Times *
An interesting, topical and anecdotal journey through the years * Gay Times *
Packed with fascinating social history ... compelling and informative * Scarlet *

Author Bio

H. G. Cocks is a lecturer in History at Nottingham University. He is the author of Nameless Offences (Tauris, 2003), a history of Victorian homosexuality, and (with Matt Houlbrook) editor of The Modern History of Sexuality (Palgrave, 2005).