Counterfeiting the Loss of Virginity in Early Modern England

Speaker: Dr Stephanie Allen

In this talk, Dr Stephanie Allen examines an element of female sexual fraud; counterfeit maidenheads. She discusses the methods authors imagined women to use, including herbal concoctions, animals blood and leeches. Dr Allen also discusses how false virgins were presented within medical texts, popular works and literature, as by using a combination of sources we can begin to understand the fears of counterfeit virginity.