Laura Adler: Everyday Life in Brothels in the Time of Maupassant and Zola

Since the very moment homo sapiens emerged on the planet, women and men have sold their bodies. But all observers—doctors, historians, moralists, police officers, ideologists, artists, novelists—agree that in the 19th century, prostitution radically changed its appearance, its status, and even, dare we say it, its very nature. What happened?