“One of the best-received non-fiction debuts of recent years.” - John Walsh, The Independent

“Splendid ... audacious ... impressive ... [a] masterly debut ... [a] big book [with] many big successes ... an argument of such elegantly delivered lucidity ... the depth of detailed historical research is as eye-catching as the breadth and topicality of Dabhoiwala’s argument ... [reveals] the core of the Western idea of what it is to be human and to be free ... this is more than just exemplary history; it is timely and important work.” – Ian Kelly, The Times

“A splendidly informative and entertaining book ... persuasively argue[d] ... rich in anecdotes, funny, touching.” – The Economist

“Fresh and engaging ... compelling ... admirable ... insightful ... chockablock with fascinating - and often explicit - accounts ... a work of scholarly heft that is also a pleasure to read.” - Peter Lopatin, Commentary

“A brilliant book ... a monumental study ... an epoch-making subject ... surprising ... amazing ... The Origins of Sex opens up a new field ... meticulously argued, strongly grounded in the sources, full of juicy examples.” - Urs Gehriger, Die Weltwoche

“Astonishing ... striking ... Presents a tremendously rich view of a fundamental change ... and is equally challenging about the diversity of sexual moralities in the world today.” - Thomas Lepeltier, Sciences Humaines

A “sumptuously rich, learned and enlightening debut ... What makes Dabhoiwala’s book so gloriously enjoyable is its happy blend of provocative ideas with splendidly rich historical anecdotes ... [a] lucidly written, densely researched and thoroughly persuasive book.” – Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times

“Origins is a remarkable read from beginning to end.” - Diane Anderson-Minshall, Advocate.com

“Path-breaking ... touching ... This is a marvellously rich and thought-provoking book, written with clarity and humanity, and drawing on a huge range of materials, from sermons to pornography to social statistics.” – Noel Malcolm, The Sunday Telegraph

“Faramerz Dabhoiwala is the Stephen Hawking of sex. ... Extraordinary ... fun ... the perfect bedside read … I read the book with eyes popping.” – Helen Rumbelow, The Times T2

A “radical and enthralling debut.”  – Tim Lewis, The Observer

“A groundbreaking work of history.” - Rutger Bregman, De Volkskrant

“This landmark work … is a huge achievement … an exciting, beautifully written, persuasively and finely argued book that will inspire great debate and revision.” – Sarah Toulalan, Times Higher Education

“An enthralling history ... bold ... eloquent ... inspiring as well as provocative.” – Sarah Bakewell, The Independent

“A deep [and] astonishingly wide-ranging and erudite history, which fascinates throughout.” – Atte Jongstra, NRC Handelsblad

“Wonderful ... [written] with great care and and unselfconscious aplomb ... an informative, wide-ranging book that is also compellingly readable.” – John Barrell, The Guardian

An “exhilarating, groundbreaking book ... the whole narrative is peppered with surprising revelations ... a meticulously researched, rigorously argued study ... Its epic scope ... brings universal truths into sharp focus ... The whole work is suffused with a subtle wit and humour ... This is a lucid and stimulating book that challenges many of our assumptions about sex.” - Matthew Green, History Today

“Highly effective ... takes a fascinating subject seriously ... and in doing so, holds up a mirror to our own contradictory times.” – Lesley McDowell, The Independent on Sunday

“Brilliant ... a killer subject ... the most entertaining work of popular history I have read in years.” – Matt Thorne, The Sunday Express

“Exceptionally good ... Dabhoiwala assembles a huge mass of information ... his book has many lessons for us.” – Brian Morton, Sunday Herald

“Impressive ... erudite ... packed with information and peppered with fascinating examples. It will delight.” - Julie Peakman, The Times Literary Supplement

“Fascinating ... incorporates everything ... an impressively illustrated argument, both literally and figuratively.” - Hallie Rubenhold, BBC History Magazine

“Forget the Swinging Sixties ... the revolution in the 18th century described by Faramerz Dabhoiwala in his book ... was something which makes your hair stand on end, even when read about more than 250 years later” - A. N. Wilson, The Daily Mail

“A fascinating book ... [Full of] enthralling nuggets ... Dabhoiwala has a fine nose for detail.” – Michael Deacon, The Daily Telegraph

“The Origins of Sex overturns the conventional wisdom that the sexual revolution began in the Sixties ... baby boomers ... will be shocked and, I suspect, a little upset.” – Cosmo Landesman, The Sunday Times

“Works meticulously through the historical records ... to show how English culture evolved intellectually, politically, and socially to arrive at modern ideas of sexual liberty, gender equality, and the privatization of sex ... highly recommended.” - Scott Viera, Library Journal

“Ambitious ... brave ... a fascinating subject and also an important one ... it reveals as transient and relative so many of the values that seem non-negotiable today.” – Lucy Worsley, The Financial Times

“A beautiful study” - Peter Giesen, De Volkskrant

“Ambitious and wide-ranging ... Dabhoiwala [argues] gracefully ... embraces [many] complexities ... he writes attractively, always clearly, and with a good eye for apt illustration.” - Norma Clarke, The Literary Review

“Hotly-anticipated ... the book resounds with sundry modern truths.” – Daisy Dunn, The Spectator

“Between 1600 and 1800, almost every commonly-held belief about sex was challenged, and we live with the fractious consequences of those changes ... it’s hard not to see ... modern parallel[s].” – Stuart Kelly, The Scotsman

“Fascinating ... impeccable ... whether our second sexual revolution will last longer than our first is far from certain.” - Helen Lewis, The New Statesman

The book’s “rewards ... are many ... Dabhoiwala answers [key questions] in meticulous, satisfying detail.” - Sidin Vadakut, Mint

“Insightful and well-observed ... delightful.” - Leicester Mercury

“The story of how we got here and where this leaves us now ... the sexual revolution of the 1960s ... had its roots in the period Dabhoiwala chronicles.” - Hephzibah Anderson, Prospect

“I hoped this would be a riot of comedy ... but no ... they were horrible, horrible people, our ancestors ... this book does make you start to believe in some human progress ... This is a very bleak book in which you meet humanity at its silliest and most cruel.” - Byron Rogers, The Spectator

“A revelation ... The book is not simply a finely crafted work of history, but a study that will reshape the way its readers understand the most intimate level of their lives.  It may even bring some sanity to modern debates about sexuality.” – Diarmaid MacCulloch

“Brilliantly argued, lucid and enthralling ... a majestic and provocative history of ideas and attitudes.” – Amanda Vickery