What do the bawd, the jilt, the rouge, and the coxcomb have to say about true love, just laws, and the rightful influence of decorum? This course will examine several raucous 18th century novels to track how these problematically-moral morality tales paved the way for Romantic-era authors to construct desire, as Richard Sha argues, as “a potential, if problematic, site of social liberation.” Readings will include: The London Jilt (Anonymous), Roxana (Daniel Defoe), Memoirs of a Coxcomb (John Cleland), Henrietta (Charlotte Lenox), and The Dangers of Coquetry (Amelia Opie). Assignments: short responses, annotated bibliography, research paper, and final exam.