Policing Same-Sex Relations in Eighteenth-Century Paris: Archival Voices from 1785

In the eighteenth century, police in Paris arrested thousands of men for sodomy or similar acts and recorded their depositions. These documents, curated and translated by Jeffrey Merrick, allow us to hear the voices of men who desired men and explore complex questions about sources, patterns, and meanings in the history of sexuality. The volume focuses on two cartons of paperwork from commissaire Charles Convers Desormeaux, containing 221 dossiers of men arrested for sodomy or similar acts. Merrick translates and annotates the police interviews, revealing how the police and those they arrested understood sex between men at the time.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 08 May 2024
Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press

In the eighteenth century, Paris police apprehended thousands of men for sodomy or similar offenses. During the mid-1780s, they recorded depositions in which prisoners detailed their own sexual histories. These remarkable documents, curated and translated into English by Jeffrey Merrick, provide us with a unique opportunity to hear the voices of men who desired men and to delve into intricate questions regarding the origins, patterns, and meanings of sexuality in history.

This volume specifically focuses on two cartons of paperwork from commissaire Charles Convers Desormeaux, dated from 1785. These cartons contain 221 dossiers of men arrested for sodomy or similar acts in Paris. Merrick translates and annotates the police interviews from these dossiers, shedding light on how the police and those they arrested interpreted sex between men during that time. He delves into the implications of the men's statements (and the omissions therein), the manner in which they expressed themselves, and the specific contexts in which these statements were made.

It is worth noting that the most renowned works of clergy, jurists, opponents of the Enlightenment, novelists, and satirists from the eighteenth century offer no insight into the lived experiences of men who desired men. In these police dossiers, Merrick grants them the privilege of speaking in their own words. This primary text serves as a valuable resource for scholars, students, and general readers with an interest in the history of sexuality, sodomy, and sexual policing.

Weight: 481g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780271097114