What is the history of orgasm? It is the history of the hidden body, suppressed desires, and flesh restrained by social taboos and moral laws. Numerous documents, deeply buried in archives and libraries, can shed light on this sensual, sometimes licentious life.

Robert Muchembled's book offers a new perspective on the past, revealing that the sublimation of erotic desire was not only related to religious asceticism but also served as a hidden driving force in the West until the 1960s. Now, for the first time in many centuries, the repressive model has given way to sexual freedom, and women, thanks to the advent of contraceptives, have gained the right to pleasure.