This collection of essays provides, for the first time, a social history of masculinity in the 'long 18th century'. It draws on a wide variety of sources, including diaries, court records, and education manuals to explore the different identities of late Stuart and Georgian men.

Part 1 Sociability: sociability and misogyny in the life of John Cannon, 1684-1743, Tim Hitchcock; manliness, effeminacy and the French - gender and the construction of national character in 18th-century England, Michele Cohen. Part 2 Virtue and friendship: the body of the friend - continuity and change in masculine friendship in the 17th century, Alan Bray and Michel Rey; homo religiosus - masculinity and religion in the long 18th century, Jeremy Gregory; James Boswell's manliness, Philip Carter. Part 3 Violence: reforming male manners - public insult and the decline of violence in London, 1660-1740, Robert B. Shoemaker; boys will be boys? - manhood and aggression 1660-1800, Elizabeth Foyster. Part 4 Sexuality: "nothing is so secret but shall be revealed" - the scandalous life of Robert Foulkes, David Turner; "the majesty of the masculine-form" - multiplicity and male bodies in 18th-century erotica, Karen Harvey. Part 5 Conclusion: the old Adam and the new man - emerging themes in the history of English masculinities, 1750-1850, John Tosh.