Description
Book SynopsisUsing biographies of historical actresses and prostitutes and interviews with contemporary sex workers, this book explores the connections between actresses and prostitutes from Nell Gwynne to Mae West. In this highly original study, Kirsten Pullen offers many insights to theatre historians and scholars of cultural, social and gender studies.
Trade Review'In her riveting study of the interplay between the two professions, Kirsten Pullen places actresses and whores firmly on the ever-present stage of society - and reminds us that it is not only prostitutes we remain ambivalent about, but theatre and film workers too.' New Statesman
'… riveting study.' Fiona Shaw, New Stateman
'… interesting study'. The Guardian
'… Pullen's close attention to both contemporary and current accounts of each of her studied figures ensures this book is authoritative and successful in its exploration of this subject. Actresses and Whores is a comprehensive study of the questions surrounding the prostitute/performer dynamic which is both illuminating and intriguing.' Theatre Notebook
Table of ContentsList of illustrations; 1. Prostitution, performance, and Mae West: speaking from the whore position; 2. Betty Boutell, 'Whom All the Town Fucks': constructing the actress/whore; 3. Memoir and masquerade: Charlotte Charke, Margaret Leeson, and eighteenth-century performances of self; 4. Burlesque, breeches, and blondes: illegitimate nineteenth-century cultural and theatrical performance; 5. 'We need status as actresses!': contemporary prostitution and performance; 6. Afterpiece: millennial prostitution; Bibliography; Index.
