It’s the story of two Victorians falling in love, at the same time one of them invents the vibrator. Plenty of women, certainly, are grateful to Dr. Joseph Mortimer Granville for his work circa 1880.

Mention vibrators and most people immediately think of women’s sexual pleasure. And no wonder: An estimated one-third of adult American women now own at least one. Clitoral stimulation with vibrators ...

The origin story of a beloved bedroom gadget, Hysteria, set in London in the 1880s, proceeds as a tedious, clumsy diddle, constantly reminding viewers how much progress has been made since the ...