The London-Bawd: With Her Character and Life Discovering the Various and Subtle Intrigues of Lewd Women

This vivid seventeenth‑century pamphlet offers a tongue‑in‑cheek portrait of a London bawd who proudly catalogues her trade, clientele, and philosophy. Through a cascade of colourful metaphors—her customers become fish, her establishment a “magazine of taciturnity”—the narrator paints a bustling world of street‑level commerce and survival. The opening chapters unfold as a self‑effacing confession, exposing how she balances cruelty and charity while stitching together the lives of the city’s most precarious figures.

The work brims with period slang, sharp satire, and a surprisingly candid look at the social margins of early‑modern London. Listeners will be drawn into the bawd’s pragmatic wit and the stark, often humorous contrast between respectable society and its hidden underbelly. It provides both entertainment and a valuable glimpse into the attitudes, language, and everyday economics of a world long past but still resonant today.