This book brings together many of John Barrell's essays - some written especially for this volume - on the history and politics of culture in eighteenth-century Britain. It addresses a wide range of cultural practices - painting, sculpture, poetry, the law, the division of labour - discussing them in relation to such issues as sexuality, the body and representation and the distinction between public and private. The Birth of Pandora will interest all those involved with or interested in cultural history and cultural studies.