What is the history of orgasm? The history of the hidden body, repressed desires, flesh restrained by social taboos and moral laws. Numerous documents, buried deep in archives and libraries, can shed light on this sensual, sometimes dissolute life. Robert Muchemble's book invites a new perspective on the past, to understand that the sublimation of erotic desire was not merely a matter of religious asceticism but was a hidden driving force in the West until the 1960s. Now, for the first time in centuries, the repressive model has given way to sexual freedom, and women, thanks to the advent of contraception, have gained the right to enjoyment.