Who was Edmund Curll and why was he convicted of obscenity?

Edmund Curll (1675–1747) was an English bookseller and publisher known for his prolific output and frequent involvement in literary controversies, most notably with the poet Alexander Pope. His reputation for publishing scandalous or indecent material was so significant that the term "Curlicism" became a synonym for literary indecency.1

In the 1720s, Curll became the first person in England to be convicted of obscenity in the common law courts. He was prosecuted for publishing a new edition of Venus in the Cloister; or, The Nun in Her Smock, a work described as mildly pornographic.2

Prior to this, English temporal courts struggled to prosecute such cases because no specific law against the publication of obscene material existed. Curll’s conviction helped establish the offense of "obscene libel," which targeted individuals deemed to have a "wicked and depraved mind" for distributing materials that allegedly corrupted public morals by inciting "lustful desires". Consequently, obscenity was recognized as an indictable misdemeanor under common law, setting a precedent for future legal efforts to regulate published content.2