{"product_id":"the-hellfire-clubs-sex-satanism-and-secret-societies","title":"The Hellfire Clubs: Sex  Satanism and Secret Societies","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Hell-Fire Clubs scandalized eighteenth-century English society. Rumors of their orgies  recruitment of prostitutes  extensive libraries of erotica  extreme rituals  and initiation ceremonies circulated widely at the time  only to become more sensational as generations passed. This thoroughly researched book sets aside the exaggerated gossip about the secret Hell-Fire Clubs and brings to light the first accurate portrait of their membership (including John Wilkes  the Chancellor of the Exchequer  and the Prince of Wales)  beliefs  activities  and the reasons for their proliferation  first in the British Isles and later in America  possibly under the auspices of Benjamin Franklin. Hell-Fire Clubs operated under a variety of titles  but all attracted similar membersmainly upper-class men with abundant leisure and the desire to shock society. The book explores the social and economic context in which the clubs emerged and flourished; their various phases  which first involved violence as an assertion of masculinity  then religious blasphemy  and later sexual indulgence; and the countermovement that eventually suppressed them. Uncovering the facts behind the Hell-Fire legends  this book also opens a window on the rich contradictions of the Enlightenment period.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44965072535605,"sku":"ByrdShop_0300116675","price":226.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780300116670.jpg?v=1770488066","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-hellfire-clubs-sex-satanism-and-secret-societies","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}