This is the classic treatise on Victorian sexuality, hugely controversial in its time, that still bears relevance in modern society. Condemned by critics as 'The Bible of the brothel' and 'The most demoralizing book of the century', "The Elements of Social Science" was one of the most daring critiques of Victorian morality ever published. Presenting a case for free sexual unions before marriage, widespread contraception and family limitation, use of condoms to guard against venereal disease, and replacement of Judeo-Christian spirituality with a science-based 'religion' that respected the human body, George Drysdale challenged the anti-sensual currents of his time and anticipated the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Constantly attacked by the medical profession at the time, Drysdale's work was nevertheless exceptionally popular, selling in excess of 100,000 copies by the time of his death in 1904. In this abridge edition, Robert Darby presents the bulk of Drysdale's polemic, which has not been reprinted since 1905, as well as offering an essay that explores the context in which "Elements" was written and its relevance to contemporary issues.
