Leading authors in the field of early modern studies explore a range of bad behaviours - like binge drinking, dicing, and procuring prostitutes at barbershops - in order to challenge the notion that early modern London was a corrupt city that ruined innocent young men.

" Masculinity and the Metropolis of Vice, 1550-1650 offers a new account of the pleasures and dangers of early modern London. Instead of focusing on moralist diatribe, the essays collected here consider the mostly masculine culture of drinking, gaming, play-going, rioting, violence, and sex that shaped the urban subject in the century during which London s population and its geography expanded exponentially. By focusing on the social spaces in which vice took place - from the central aisle of St. Paul s to barbers shops and bawdy houses, these essays draw on the work of cultural geographers as well as social historians to revise rigid patriarchal narratives and help us rethink early modern masculinity. A well-chosen collection useful for both teaching and research." - Karen Newman, Professor of English, New York University