The Hellfire Clubs: Sex, Satanism and Secret Societies by Lord, Evelyn - 2008

London: Yale University Press, 2008. -----The scan you see is the book you get. Black cloth with gilt, headband, xxix, 247 pages plus 16 pages of b & w photos, Near Fine condition, dust jacket is in Near Fine condition. "The Hell-Fire Clubs scandalized eighteenth-century English society. Rumors of their orgies, recruitment of prostitutes, extensive libraries of erotica, extreme rituals, and initiation ceremonies circulated widely at the time, only to become more sensational as generations passed. This thoroughly researched book sets aside the exaggerated gossip about the secret Hell-Fire Clubs & brings to light the first accurate portrait of their membership (including John Wilkes, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Prince of Wales), beliefs, activities, & the reasons for their proliferation, first in the British Isles & later in America, possibly under the auspices of Benjamin Franklin." Check out the scans. . 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Illus. by The Diabolical Maskerade, satirical print, 1719, British Museum;. 8vo.