In January 2009 Harper Perennial will publish the Forbidden Classics. These are ten triumphs of erotic literature guaranteed to entertain, educate and, most importantly, arouse.
Over the next few months we're going to be previewing all the erotic classics. Providing background information on who wrote them, how popular they were and why they've stood the test of time. We're going to have articles and competitions and hopefully have fun with some of the sexiest books ever written.
Over the past few years seedy books have become decidedly less seedy. The internet has caused widespread of proliferation of erotica to read, most of it bad, some of it good, lots of fantasy and some supposedly planted in reality. The Forbidden Classics range allows us to explore the origins of these stories. For every Belle du Jour there is Fanny Hill. For every one of Nexus books innumerable S&M titles there is Venus in Furs and Sadopaideia. For every new shocking novel there is the Marquis de Sade. The titles are listed below and come back regularly for updates, excerts and articles.
FANNY HILL - John Cleland
Cleland's masterpiece of erotica details the life of the working woman in the mid-eighteenth century and is no less racy for it. Marvel at how the naieve Fanny is lured into prostitution only to find true love and lose it again. It was most recently adapted by Andrew Davies for BBC 4.
JUSTINE - Marquis de Sade
In which the virtuous are made to suffer... de Sade could often be accused of subjecting his characters to continuous sexual depravity, but in Justine he does so with a clear purpose in mind. In a brilliant rationalist argument, de Sade shows how a life lived in virtue does not always result in kindness and love and conversely that those involved in vice do well.
VENUS IN FURS - Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
So good they named a way of life after him. A novel of dark, willing obsession Venus in Furs showed the erotic possibilities of adoration and being adored. That partners might not be equal and that a man would take on the willing role of slave to a woman was a revolutionary idea and the novel explores these themes of barbed love.
THE PEARL - Anonymous
Published between 1879 and 1880 The Pearl was a collection of short stories and erotic ephemera. It appeared in magazine form and in this book we have collected two of the best works - Lady Pokingham and La Rose d'Amour. Delicious, depraved and deeply exciting.
MY SECRET LIFE - 'Walter'
A tour de force of a sexual autobiography, My Secret Life is an epic exploration of the Victorian underworld, told through the eyes of a supposed gentleman. Walter's need is seemingly insatiable, even from a young age and this book collects the first volume of an extraordinary eleven volume series.
THE WAY OF A MAN WITH A MAID - Anonymous
Jack has some funny ideas about home furnishings. He's converted one of his rooms in to an erotic torture chamber and sets about bending a young woman named Alice to his will. Another wonderful example of the Victorian obsession with S&M, this an eye-opening, surprsing and yet often funny work of sexual literature.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FLEA - Stanislas de Rhodes
A sexy book narrated by a flea? Well once you're used to the concept this is a fascinating account of sexual adventure at the very beginnings of the twentieth century. It also a powerful piece of anti-church propaganda, often detailing a corrupt and decadent priesthood.
SADOPAIDEIA - Anonymous
Cecil is an undergrad at Oxford, but is about to get an education he didn't quite expect. This great book from 1907 details how Cecil begins being schooled in the ways of masochism only to learn the ways of sexual sadism too. The first 'switch' in literary history?
VENUS IN INDIA - 'Captain Charles Devereaux'
The tale of 'Captain Devereaux' supposedly sent to Afghanistan to fight, he ends up enjoying many sexual encouters with officers' wives and daughters. However, 'Devereaux' may soon be about to get his comeuppance... Another classic exploring the hypocrisy of Victorian moral values.
EMMANUELLE - Emmanuelle Arsan
The book that launched a thousand sequels, Emmanuelle is an incredible journey of sexual discovery. The 'bored housewife' of a French Diplomat, Emmanuelle, finds great pleasure in a succession of lovers in a great novel that was banned under De Gaulle's government.
