Kinky History: A Rollicking Journey through Our Sexual Past, Present, and Future
Esmé Louise James
Jun 2024 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Esmé Louise James
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11 hr 8 min
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About this audiobook
A provocative journey through human sexual history, packed with fun factoids and forgotten stories, from the historian and storyteller behind Kinky History, @esme.louisee on TikTok
Contrary to popular belief, our predecessors had all sorts of obscene hobbies long before Christian Grey hit the scene. In this enlightening romp, learn about the first instances of homosexuality on record from the ancient world and the diverse history of nonbinary gender; encounter a thousand years’ worth of hilarious and horrifying contraceptive methods; consider the positive and negative effects of the widespread availability of pornography in the digital age—and how our relationship to it changed during the pandemic; take a sneaky riffle through centuries of bedside drawers; and discover the dirty little secrets of luminaries such as Julius Caesar, James Joyce, Albert Einstein, and Virginia Woolf.
Esmé Louise James also identifies the key tipping points that directly inform current beliefs around sex to place the past in conversation with the present. By educating ourselves about the weird, wonderful, and varied spectrum of human sexuality and experience, we can normalize and destigmatize sex, write people of marginalized sexual identities back into the pages of history, and build toward a more liberated future.
Contrary to popular belief, our predecessors had all sorts of obscene hobbies long before Christian Grey hit the scene. In this enlightening romp, learn about the first instances of homosexuality on record from the ancient world and the diverse history of nonbinary gender; encounter a thousand years’ worth of hilarious and horrifying contraceptive methods; consider the positive and negative effects of the widespread availability of pornography in the digital age—and how our relationship to it changed during the pandemic; take a sneaky riffle through centuries of bedside drawers; and discover the dirty little secrets of luminaries such as Julius Caesar, James Joyce, Albert Einstein, and Virginia Woolf.
Esmé Louise James also identifies the key tipping points that directly inform current beliefs around sex to place the past in conversation with the present. By educating ourselves about the weird, wonderful, and varied spectrum of human sexuality and experience, we can normalize and destigmatize sex, write people of marginalized sexual identities back into the pages of history, and build toward a more liberated future.
A provocative journey through human sexual history, packed with fun factoids and forgotten stories, from the historian and storyteller behind Kinky History, @esme.louisee on TikTok
Contrary to popular belief, our predecessors had all sorts of obscene hobbies long before Christian Grey hit the sc...
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Ratings and reviews
1 review
nicky wilcox
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November 30, 2025
I found this book to be eye opening, insightful and highly entertaining. I recommend to everyone who is even somewhat curious about human sexuality, including their own.
About the author
Esmé Louise James (@esme.louisee) is best known for her Kinky History series on TikTok, and she has three million followers across social media platforms. James is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne; her thesis investigates the emerging genre of the pornographic novel in the eighteenth century. James also presents the popular Kinky History podcast, was a speaker at TEDxSydney in 2022, and was nominated for Best Digital Creator at the 2022 AACTA Awards.
Dr. Susan James is a Senior Outreach Fellow in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Melbourne. Susan has a master of arts in mathematics from Cambridge University and a master of science and a PhD in medical statistics from the University of Leicester. With her daughter Esmé, Susan jointly created TikTok’s SexTistics series, funded by Screen Australia, in 2022.
Dr. Susan James is a Senior Outreach Fellow in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Melbourne. Susan has a master of arts in mathematics from Cambridge University and a master of science and a PhD in medical statistics from the University of Leicester. With her daughter Esmé, Susan jointly created TikTok’s SexTistics series, funded by Screen Australia, in 2022.
Esmé Louise James (@esme.louisee) is best known for her Kinky History series on TikTok, and she has three million followers across social media platforms. James is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne; her thesis investigates the emerging genre of the pornographic novel in the eighteent...
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