This collection of eleven essays by historians and literary scholars examines the role of the state in regulating sexual morality in France, England and the British Empire. Each essay focuses on a trial and the public debates surrounding it. The cases range from husband or wife murder, to divorce, child marriage and public indecency. The social conflicts bring to light differing ideologies of class, gender and sexuality in the age of the ''New Man'', the ''New Woman'' and the ''Third Sex''.