There really was a publication of names & descriptions of prostitutes, as Lucy is reading from in the first scene. Called "Harris' List of Covent Garden Ladies" it was updated annually between 1757 and 1795; it sold around 250,000 copies, which was a massive amount for that time period. The content of the book is believed to have been written by an Irish poet named Samuel Derrick, to whom Harris, a notorious London pimp, lent his name in return for a fee.