Butler's efforts to reduce or eliminate state regulation of prostitution in the mid to late 1800s were famous in her time, then forgotten, then revisited to reveal within them the reformer, feminist and mystic behind them. Inspired by the work in the Josephine Butler Research project associated with the Liverpool Hope University, the contributors of these nine articles examine both the sacred and the secular sides of Butler in such topics as Butler's biographies of prostitutes Baker and her husband converted to Christianity, Butler's identification with prostitutes and her attitudes toward their industry, Butler's reactions to international trafficking, Butler's influence in abolitionism and the women's movement in The Netherlands, Christian women's identity in the period, Butler's motivations for her efforts to repeal the Contagious Disease Acts, and Butler's approach to the Catholic "Other." Annotation 2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
