Kinky History

A Rollicking Journey Through Our Sexual Past, Present, and Future

By: Esmé Louise James

Narrated by: Esmé Louise James

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.

©2024 Esmé Louise James (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Kinky History may not be the most fun you can have with your clothes on, because, well, you can have sex while still dressed. Regardless, Esmé Louise James’s book is a riotous romp that is entertaining, educational, empathetic, and inclusive. I loved it."—James Fell, author of On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down

“Who knew that history could be so…kinky? Esmé Louise James offers a lesson in history that you most definitely did not receive in school. She shows how, by looking into the past, we can learn a lot about sex in the present, including the root sources of sexual shame. This book shows how the path to modern sexual liberation starts with a comprehensive understanding of the history of sex, kinks and all.”—Justin J. Lehmiller, Ph.D., Host of the Sex and Psychology Podcast and author of Tell Me What You Want

"Bold and enlightening, Kinky History is a radical journey through the evolution of human intimacy. It’s a thrilling reminder of the need to break taboos and forge a sex-positive future. Not just a book, it’s a compelling call to sexual understanding and acceptance."—Chantelle Otten, author of The Sex Ed You Never Had

What a Fun Lense for Analyzing Modern Sex

This is a deeply thoughtful and extremely fun look at humanity and sexuality in the past, present, and future. I highly recommend!!

Enthusiastic History

James' writes and reads a fun and enthusiastic take on history. Her writing style is eloquent and clear. And her presentation is welcoming and playful. The subject is of course interesting. and goes into details that will amuse and inform. a must read.

Good Listen

Enjoyable set up for a story on a integeral part of the human experience, historically written with enough wit to prevent droning or loosing interest. The author reads her work in a way that shows a passion for the subject

Your creative storytelling and connections!💗

I preordered this and was just waiting for it to pop up in my library😭

A fascinating look at history

After following James’ Kinky History videos on Instagram, I knew I needed to read this book. She always presents the kinky facts from history in a fun and easy to understand manner. This book is just a longer version of that.

James uses a mixture of history, science, and personal anecdote to tell the history of kink. She uses a dinner party as a framing device to showcase various well-known people from history and their proclivities and dives further into the history of that kink. This was an extremely well researched book and James does a great job at presenting the information in a fun and easy to read manner. As she presents this history, she is also teaching us to be more tolerant of people’s sexual choices and learn to embrace our own sexuality.

Overall, this was a wonderful and fascinating look at the history of kink. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in the history of kink because James really does a great job at presenting this information in an educated and celebratory way.

The wealth of information provided by the author.

This book is both entertaining and informative. The way the author presents the information is enjoyable for both the academic learner and the curious sexual adventurer. Information is power, this rings true for understanding our sexuality, sexual impulses and kink.

Kiny History

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very interesting and informative. It's easy to listen to because of Esmee's enthusiasm. I follow her on TikTok also.

History’s Kinks No Longer A Secret

My Review:
5 ⭐️ 3 🌶️

If you think kinks and queer identities are a modern fad, Kinky History is here to spank that notion right out of you. Esmé Louise James serves up a wildly entertaining, well-researched deep dive into humanity’s long, messy, and often eyebrow-raising sexual past—complete with an imaginary dinner party featuring historical icons like Julius Caesar and Virginia Woolf spilling their dirtiest secrets.

From ancient contraception nightmares to the politics of porn, James proves that nothing in the bedroom (or beyond) is truly new—just recycled with better branding. Her sharp wit and academic chops make this both an enlightening and laugh-out-loud read. Perfect for history nerds, kink-curious folks, and anyone who wants to scandalize their fellow commuters with a bold book cover. So grab a copy and get ready to learn—because history has always been down to Roman around.

Great topics

the narrator's cadence did not match the topics. Why she sounds happy and like she is laughing all the time regardless is the topic. I struggled to pick up where I left because her reading felt like she was laughing at jokes all the time. I need to pay attention when selecting my audible books to stay away from this particular narrator even if I like the theme.

So boring and I love kink

I feel like I just wasted an hour of my life listening to this book that gave absolutely no kinky history in that first hour. I got this book because it’s labeled kinky history and the first hour the person just talks about themselves in the foreplay chapter