Sophie Vasset is Professor of Eighteenth-Century Studies at the Institute for Research on the Renaissance, Classical Age and Enlightenment, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3

'Murky Waters makes a convincing and fascinating case for the spa as an ambivalent, contradictory, space that melded nostalgia and bucolic landscapes with subversive potential: a venue for gossip, sexual experimentation, and forging new and radical political alliances.' Jennifer Wallis, Northern History'Murky waters reflects the culmination of over two centuries of historical and literary analysis, satire, and imagination surrounding Great Britain’s vast multitude of mineral springs and spas, and it is required reading for anyone interested in this ever-flowing topic.'Vaughn Scribner, Journal of British Studies

• Introduction1 Sick bodies2 From bogs to jug: a risky remedy?3 Waters of desire: promiscuity, gender and sexuality4 Pump room politics and the murky past of spas5 Pumping and pouring: watering places and the money businessConclusionIndex

Sophie Vasset is Professor of Eighteenth-Century Studies at the Institute for Research on the Renaissance, Classical Age and Enlightenment, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3

'Murky Waters makes a convincing and fascinating case for the spa as an ambivalent, contradictory, space that melded nostalgia and bucolic landscapes with subversive potential: a venue for gossip, sexual experimentation, and forging new and radical political alliances.' Jennifer Wallis, Northern History'Murky waters reflects the culmination of over two centuries of historical and literary analysis, satire, and imagination surrounding Great Britain’s vast multitude of mineral springs and spas, and it is required reading for anyone interested in this ever-flowing topic.'Vaughn Scribner, Journal of British Studies

• Introduction1 Sick bodies2 From bogs to jug: a risky remedy?3 Waters of desire: promiscuity, gender and sexuality4 Pump room politics and the murky past of spas5 Pumping and pouring: watering places and the money businessConclusionIndex

Sophie Vasset is Professor of Eighteenth-Century Studies at the Institute for Research on the Renaissance, Classical Age and Enlightenment, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3

'Murky Waters makes a convincing and fascinating case for the spa as an ambivalent, contradictory, space that melded nostalgia and bucolic landscapes with subversive potential: a venue for gossip, sexual experimentation, and forging new and radical political alliances.' Jennifer Wallis, Northern History'Murky waters reflects the culmination of over two centuries of historical and literary analysis, satire, and imagination surrounding Great Britain’s vast multitude of mineral springs and spas, and it is required reading for anyone interested in this ever-flowing topic.'Vaughn Scribner, Journal of British Studies

• Introduction1 Sick bodies2 From bogs to jug: a risky remedy?3 Waters of desire: promiscuity, gender and sexuality4 Pump room politics and the murky past of spas5 Pumping and pouring: watering places and the money businessConclusionIndex