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Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of
eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the ear ...
(passionate, romantic or sexual relationships) intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically on sexual feelings. Other common elements are
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...
and
social criticism Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in particular with respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general. Social criticism of the Enlightenment The or ...
. Much erotic literature features
erotic art Erotic art is a broad field of the visual arts that includes any artistic work intended to evoke erotic arousal. It usually depicts human nudity or sexual activity, and has included works in various visual mediums, including drawings, engr ...
, illustrating the text. Although cultural disapproval of erotic literature has always existed, its circulation was not seen as a major problem before the invention of printing, as the costs of producing individual manuscripts limited distribution to a very small group of wealthy and literate readers. The invention of printing, in the 15th century, brought with it both a greater market and increasing restrictions, including
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
and legal restraints on publication on the grounds of
obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be us ...
.Hyde (1964); pp. 1–26 Because of this, much of the production of this type of material became clandestine.


Erotic verse


Early periods

The oldest located love poem is Istanbul 2461, an erotic monologue written by a female speaker directed to king Shu-Sin. In ancient Sumer, a whole cycle of poems revolved around the erotic lovemaking between the goddess
Inanna Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...
and her consort
Dumuzid the Shepherd Dumuzid or Tammuz ( sux, , ''Dumuzid''; akk, Duʾūzu, Dûzu; he, תַּמּוּז, Tammûz),; ar, تمّوز ' known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd ( sux, , ''Dumuzid sipad''), is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with shep ...
. In the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Song of Songs, found in the last section of the
Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...
and
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. The Greek poets
Straton of Sardis Straton of Sardis ( grc-gre, Στράτων; better known under his Latin name Strato) was a Greek poet and anthologist from the Lydian city of Sardis. Life Straton is thought by some scholars to have lived during the time of Hadrian, based o ...
and Sappho of Lesbos both wrote erotic lyric poems. Derek Parker 404, ed. (1980) ''An Anthology of Erotic Verse''. London: Constable The poet
Archilochus Archilochus (; grc-gre, Ἀρχίλοχος ''Arkhilokhos''; c. 680 – c. 645 BC) was a Greek lyric poet of the Archaic period from the island of Paros. He is celebrated for his versatile and innovative use of poetic meters, and is the ...
wrote numerous satirical poems filled with obscene and erotic imagery. Erotic poems continued to be written in
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
and Roman times by writers like
Automedon In Greek mythology, Automedon (; Ancient Greek: Αὐτομέδων), son of Diores, was Achilles' charioteer, who drove the immortal horses Balius and Xanthos. Mythology In Homer's ''Iliad'', Automedon rides into battle once Patroclus dons ...
(''The Professional'' and ''Demetrius the Fortunate''),
Philodemus Philodemus of Gadara ( grc-gre, Φιλόδημος ὁ Γαδαρεύς, ''Philodēmos'', "love of the people"; c. 110 – prob. c. 40 or 35 BC) was an Arabic Epicurean philosopher and poet. He studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before movin ...
(''Charito'') and Marcus Argentarius. Notable Roman erotic poets included
Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His ...
,
Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the poets Gallu ...
,
Tibullus Albius Tibullus ( BC19 BC) was a Latin poet and writer of elegies. His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to him are of questionable origins. Little is known about the life of Tibullus. There are only a f ...
,
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
,
Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...
and
Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...
, and the anonymous Priapeia. Some later Latin authors such as Joannes Secundus also wrote erotic verse. ''
Haft Peykar ''Haft Peykar'' ( fa, هفت پیکر ''Haft Peykar'') also known as Bahramnameh (, ''The Book of Bahram'', referring to the Sasanian king Bahram Gur) is a romantic epic by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi written in 1197. This poem forms one part of ...
'' ( fa, هفت پیکر) also known as ''Bahramnameh'' (, ''The Book of Bahram'') is a romantic epic by the Persian poet
Nizami Ganjavi Nizami Ganjavi ( fa, نظامی گنجوی, lit=Niẓāmī of Ganja, translit=Niẓāmī Ganjavī; c. 1141–1209), Nizami Ganje'i, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was ''Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī'',Mo'in ...
written in 1197. This poem is a part of the ''Nizami's Khamsa''. The original title ''Haft Peykar'' can be translated literally as “seven portraits” with the figurative meaning of “seven beauties.” The poem is a masterpiece of erotic literature, but it is also a profoundly moralistic work.François de Blois
Haft Peykar
// Encyclopædia Iranica 404. — December 15, 2002. — V. XI. — pp. 522–524. During the Renaissance period, many poems were not written for publication; instead, they were merely circulated in manuscript form among a relatively limited readership. This was the original method of circulation for the ''
Sonnets A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's inventio ...
'' of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, who also wrote the erotic poems '' Venus and Adonis'' and ''
The Rape of Lucrece ''The Rape of Lucrece'' (1594) is a narrative poem by William Shakespeare about the legendary Roman noblewoman Lucretia. In his previous narrative poem, '' Venus and Adonis'' (1593), Shakespeare had included a dedicatory letter to his patron, ...
''.


17th and 18th centuries

In the 17th century,
John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court. The Restoration reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester embodie ...
(1647–80) was notorious for obscene verses, many of which were published posthumously in compendiums of poetry by him and other " Restoration
rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...
s" such as Sir Charles Sedley,
Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex, KG (24 January 164329 January 1706) was an English poet and courtier. Early life Sackville was born on 24 January 1643, son of Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset (1622–1677) ...
, and
George Etherege Sir George Etherege (c. 1636, Maidenhead, Berkshire – c. 10 May 1692, Paris) was an English dramatist. He wrote the plays '' The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub'' in 1664, ''She Would If She Could'' in 1668, and '' The Man of Mode o ...
. Though many of the poems attributed to Rochester were actually by other authors, his reputation as a
libertine A libertine is a person devoid of most moral principles, a sense of responsibility, or sexual restraints, which they see as unnecessary or undesirable, and is especially someone who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behaviour o ...
was such that his name was used as a selling point by publishers of collections of erotic verse for centuries after. One poem definitely by him was "A Ramble in
St. James's Park St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous ch ...
", in which the protagonist's quest for healthy exercise in the park uncovers instead "Bugg'ries, Rapes and Incest" on ground polluted by debauchery from the time when "Ancient Pict began to Whore". This poem was being censored from collections of Rochester's poetry as late as 1953, though, in line with the subsequent general change in attitudes to sexuality, it was dramatised as a scene in the film '' The Libertine'' about his life, based on an existing play. English collections of erotic verse by various hands include the ''Drollery'' collections of the 17th century; '' Pills to Purge Melancholy'' (1698–1720); the ''
Roxburghe Ballads In 1847 John Payne Collier (1789–1883) printed ''A Book of Roxburghe Ballads''. It consisted of 1,341 broadside ballads from the seventeenth century, mostly English, originally collected by Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer (16 ...
''; '' Bishop Percy's Folio''; ''The Musical Miscellany''; ''National Ballad and Song: Merry Songs and Ballads Prior to the Year AD 1800'' (1895–97) edited by J. S. Farmer; the three volume ''Poetica Erotica'' (1921) and its more obscene supplement the ''Immortalia'' (1927) both edited by T. R. Smith. French collections include ''Les Muses gaillardes'' (1606) ''Le Cabinet satyrique'' (1618) and ''La Parnasse des poetes satyriques'' (1622). A famous collection of four erotic poems, was published in England in 1763, called ''An Essay on Woman''. This included the title piece, an obscene parody of
Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
's " An Essay on Man"; "Veni Creator: or, The Maid's Prayer", which is original; the "Universal Prayer", an obscene parody of Pope's poem of the same name, and "The Dying Lover to his Prick", which parodies "A Dying Christian to his Soul" by Pope. These poems have been attributed to
John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he ...
and/or Thomas Potter and receive the distinction of being the only works of erotic literature ever read out loud and in their entirety in the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
—before being declared obscene and blasphemous by that body and the supposed author, Wilkes, declared an
outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill th ...
.
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...
worked to collect and preserve Scottish folk songs, sometimes revising, expanding, and adapting them. One of the better known of these collections is ''The Merry Muses of Caledonia'' (the title is not by Burns), a collection of bawdy lyrics that were popular in the music halls of Scotland as late as the 20th century.


19th century

One of the 19th century's foremost poets—
Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
—devoted much of his considerable talent to erotic verse, producing, inter alia, twelve eclogues on
flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...
titled ''The Flogging Block'' "by Rufus Rodworthy, annotated by Barebum Birchingly"; more was published anonymously in ''
The Whippingham Papers ''The Whippingham Papers'' is a Victorian work of sado-masochistic pornography by St George Stock (a probable pseudonym, also credited with ''The Romance of Chastisement'') and published by Edward Avery in December 1887. It consists of a collect ...
'' (c. 1888). Another notorious anonymous 19th-century poem on the same subject is ''
The Rodiad ''The Rodiad'' is a pornographic poem on the subject of flagellation published by John Camden Hotten in 1871, although falsely dated to 1810. It was falsely ascribed when printed to George Colman the Younger. Its author was Richard Monckton Milne ...
'', ascribed (seemingly falsely and in jest) to
George Colman the Younger George Colman (21 October 1762 – 17 October 1836), known as "the Younger", was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer. He was the son of George Colman the Elder. Life He passed from Westminster School to Christ Church, Oxford, an ...
.
John Camden Hotten John Camden Hotten (12 September 1832, Clerkenwell – 14 June 1873, Hampstead) was an English bibliophile and publisher. He is best known for his clandestine publishing of numerous erotic and pornographic titles. Life Hotten was born John Will ...
even wrote a pornographic comic opera, '' Lady Bumtickler’s Revels'', on the theme of
flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...
in 1872. Pierre Louÿs helped found a literary review, ''La Conque'' in 1891, where he proceeded to publish ''
Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart ( Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...
''—an early collection of erotic verse already marked by his distinctive elegance and refinement of style. He followed up in 1894 with another erotic collection in 143 prose poems—'' Songs of Bilitis (Les Chansons de Bilitis)'', this time with strong lesbian themes.


20th century

Although
D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
could be regarded as a writer of love poems, he usually dealt in the less romantic aspects of love such as sexual frustration or the sex act itself.
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...
, in his ''Literary Essays'', complained of Lawrence's interest in his own "disagreeable sensations" but praised him for his "low-life narrative". This is a reference to Lawrence's dialect poems akin to the Scots poems of
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...
, in which he reproduced the language and concerns of the people of
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...
from his youth. He called one collection of poems ''Pansies'' partly for the simple ephemeral nature of the verse but also a pun on the French word ''panser'', to dress or bandage a wound. "The Noble Englishman" and "Don't Look at Me" were removed from the official edition of ''Pansies'' on the grounds of obscenity; Lawrence felt wounded by this. From the age of 17, Gavin Ewart acquired a reputation for wit and accomplishment through such works as "Phallus in Wonderland" and "Poems and Songs", which appeared in 1939 and was his first collection. The intelligence and casually flamboyant virtuosity with which he framed his often humorous commentaries on human behaviour made his work invariably entertaining and interesting. The irreverent eroticism for which his poetry is noted resulted in
W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and ...
's banning of his "The Pleasures of the Flesh" (1966) from their shops. Canadian poet John Glassco wrote '' Squire Hardman'' (1967), a long poem in heroic couplets, purporting to be a reprint of an 18th-century poem by
George Colman the Younger George Colman (21 October 1762 – 17 October 1836), known as "the Younger", was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer. He was the son of George Colman the Elder. Life He passed from Westminster School to Christ Church, Oxford, an ...
, on the theme of flagellation. Italian Una Chi distinguished herself among other publications for coldly analytical prose and for the crudeness of the stories.


Erotic fiction

Erotic fiction is fiction that portrays sex or sexual themes, generally in a more literary or serious way than the fiction seen in pornographic magazines. It sometimes includes elements of
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...
or
social criticism Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in particular with respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general. Social criticism of the Enlightenment The or ...
. Such works have frequently been banned by the government or religious authorities. Non-fictional works that portray sex or sexual themes may contain fictional elements. Calling an erotic book 'a memoir' is a literary device that is common in this genre. For reasons similar to those that make pseudonyms both commonplace and often deviously set up, the boundary between fiction and non-fiction is broad. Erotic fiction has been credited in large part for the sexual awakening and liberation of women in the 20th and 21st centuries.


History of western erotic fiction


Ancient, medieval, and early modern periods

'' The Satyricon'' of Petronius Arbiter (later made into a
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
by
Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...
) is an ancient Roman novel, which has partially survived, narrating the misadventures of an impotent man named Encolpius, who has been cursed by the god
Priapus In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical ter ...
. The novel is filled with bawdy and obscene episodes, including orgies, ritual sex, and other erotic incidents. The discovery of several fragments of Lollianos's ''Phoenician Tale'' reveal that a genre of picaresque erotic novel also existed in ancient Greece. Some of the ancient Greek romance novels, such as '' Daphnis and Chloe'', also contain elements of sexual fantasy. From the medieval period, there is the ''
Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label= Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Da ...
'' (1353) by the Italian
Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was som ...
(made into a
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
by
Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
) which features tales of lechery by monks and the seduction of nuns from convents. This book was banned in many countries. Even five centuries after publication copies were seized and destroyed by the authorities in the US and the UK. For instance between 1954 and 1958 eight orders for destruction of the book were made by English magistrates. From the 15th century, another classic of Italian erotica is a series of bawdy folk tales called the ''Facetiae'' by Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini. '' The Tale of Two Lovers'' ( la, Historia de duobus amantibus) written in 1444 was one of the bestselling books of the 15th century, even before its author,
Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 Augus ...
, became
Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 Augu ...
. It is one of the earliest examples of an
epistolary novel An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of letters. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse documents of other kinds with the letters, most commonly diary entries and newspaper clippings, and sometimes considered ...
, full of erotic imagery. The first printed edition was published by Ulrich Zel in Cologne between 1467 and 1470. The 16th century was notable for the '' Heptameron'' of Marguerite de Navarre (1558), inspired by Boccaccio's ''Decameron'' and the notorious ''
I Modi ''I Modi'' (''The Ways''), also known as ''The Sixteen Pleasures'' or under the Latin title ''De omnibus Veneris Schematibus'', is a famous erotic book of the Italian Renaissance in which a series of sexual positions were explicitly depicted in ...
'' which married erotic drawings, depicting postures assumed in sexual intercourse, by Giulio Romano, with obscene sonnets by Pietro Aretino. Aretino also wrote the celebrated whore dialogue ''Ragionamenti'', in which the sex lives of wives, whores and nuns are compared and contrasted. Later works in the same genre include ''La Retorica delle Puttane'' (''The Whore's Rhetoric'') (1642) by Ferrante Pallavicino; '' L'Ecole des Filles'' (The school for girls) (1655), attributed to Michel Millot and Jean L'Ange. and ''The Dialogues of Luisa Sigea'' (c. 1660) by Nicolas Chorier. Such works typically concerned the sexual education of a naive younger woman by an experienced older woman and often included elements of philosophising, satire and
anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
. Donald Thomas has translated ''L'École des filles'', as ''The School of Venus'', (1972), described on its back cover as "both an uninhibited manual of sexual technique and an erotic masterpiece of the first order". In his diary
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
records reading and (in an often censored passage) masturbating over this work. Chorier's ''Dialogues of Luisa Sigea'' goes a bit further than its predecessors in this genre and has the older female giving practical instruction of a lesbian nature to the younger woman plus recommending the spiritual and erotic benefits of a flogging from willing members of the holy orders. This work was translated into many languages under various different titles, appearing in English as ''A Dialogue between a Married Woman and a Maid'' in various editions. ''The School of Women'' first appeared as a work in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
entitled ''Aloisiae Sigaeae, Toletanae, Satyra sotadica de arcanis Amoris et Veneris''. This manuscript claimed that it was originally written in Spanish by
Luisa Sigea de Velasco Luisa Sigea de Velasco (1522 in Tarancón – October 13, 1560 in Burgos), also known as Luisa Sigeia, Luisa Sigea Toledana and in the Latinized form Aloysia Sygaea Toletana, was a poet and intellectual, one of the major figures of Spanish hu ...
, an erudite poet and maid of honor at the court of
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
and was then translated into Latin by Jean or
Johannes Meursius Johannes Meursius (van Meurs) (9 February 1579 – 20 September 1639) was a Dutch classical scholar and antiquary. Biography Meursius was born Johannes van Meurs at Loosduinen, near The Hague. He was extremely precocious, and at the age of si ...
. The attribution to Sigea and Meursius was a lie; the true author was Nicolas Chorier. A unique work of this time is ''
Sodom, or the Quintessence of Debauchery ''Sodom'' is an obscene Restoration closet drama, published in 1684. The work has been attributed to John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, though its authorship is disputed. Determining the date of composition and attribution are complicated owing m ...
'' (1684), a closet play by the notorious Restoration rake,
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court. The Restoration reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester embodie ...
in which Bolloxinion, King of Sodom, authorises "that buggery may be used O'er all the land, so cunt be not abused", which order, though appealing to soldiery, has deleterious effects generally, leading the court physician to counsel: "Fuck women, and let Bugg'ry be no more".


18th century

An early pioneer of the publication of erotic works in England was
Edmund Curll Edmund Curll (''c.'' 1675 – 11 December 1747) was an English bookseller and publisher. His name has become synonymous, through the attacks on him by Alexander Pope, with unscrupulous publication and publicity. Curll rose from poverty to wealt ...
(1675–1747), who published many of the Merryland books. These were an English genre of erotic fiction in which the female body (and sometimes the male) was described in terms of a
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
.Patrick J Kearney (1982) ''A History of Erotic Literature''. Parragon: 53-7 The earliest work in this genre seems to be ''Erotopolis: The Present State of Bettyland'' (1684) probably by
Charles Cotton Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from the French, for his contributions to ''The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential ''The Com ...
. This was included, in abbreviated form, in ''The Potent Ally: or Succours from Merryland'' (1741). Other works include '' A New Description of Merryland. Containing a Topographical, Geographical and Natural History of that Country'' (1740) by Thomas Stretzer, ''Merryland Displayed'' (1741) and set of maps entitled ''A Compleat Set of Charts of the Coasts of Merryland'' (1745). The last book in this genre appears to be a parody of
Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' and '' A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', publishe ...
's '' A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'' (1768) entitled ''La Souriciere. The Mousetrap. A Facetious and Sentimental Excursion through part of Austrian Flanders and France'' (1794) by "Timothy Touchit". The rise of the novel in 18th-century England provided a new medium for erotica. One of the most famous in this genre was '' Fanny Hill'' (1748) by John Cleland. This book set a standard in literary smut and was often adapted for the cinema in the 20th century.
Peter Fryer Peter Fryer (18 February 1927 – 31 October 2006)
''Spartacus Educational''. was an English ...
suggests that ''Fanny Hill'' was a high point in British erotica, at least in the eighteenth century, in a way that mainstream literature around it had also reached a peak at that time, with writers like Defoe, Richardson and Fielding all having made important and lasting contributions to literature in its first half. After 1750, he suggests, when the
Romantic period Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
began, the quality of mainstream writing and of smut declined in tandem. Writes Fryer: "sex was driven out of the English novel in the latter half of the eighteenth century. The castration of imaginative English literature made the clandestine literature of sex the most poverty stricken and boring in Europe". French writers kept their stride. One genre, which vies in oddness with the English "Merryland" productions, was inspired by the newly translated ''
Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' and involved the transformation of people into objects which were in propinquity with or employed in sexual relationships: such as sofas, dildos and even bidets. The climax of this trend is represented in French philosopher
Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the '' Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promi ...
's ''
Les Bijoux indiscrets ''The Indiscreet Jewels'' (or ''The Indiscreet Toys'', or ''The Talking Jewels''; french: Les Bijoux indiscrets) is the first novel by Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and wr ...
'' (1747) in which a
magic ring A magic ring is a mythical, folkloric or fictional piece of jewelry, usually a finger ring, that is purported to have supernatural properties or powers. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. Magic rings are found in the folklore of ...
is employed to get women's vaginas to give an account of their intimate sexual histories. Other works of French erotica from this period include '' Thérèse Philosophe'' (1748) by Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens which describes a girl's initiation into the secrets of both philosophy and sex; ''The Lifted Curtain or Laura's Education'', about a young girl's sexual initiation by her father, written by the French revolutionary politician Comte de Mirabeau; and '' Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (Dangerous Liaisons) by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in 1782. In the late 18th century, such works as '' Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue'' and '' 120 Days of Sodom'' by the
Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusati ...
were exemplars of the theme of
sado-masochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refe ...
and influenced later erotic accounts of
sadism and masochism in fiction The role of sadism and masochism in fiction has attracted serious scholarly attention. Anthony Storr has commented that the volume of sadomasochist pornography shows that sadomasochistic interest is widespread in Western society; John Kucich has n ...
. De Sade (as did the later writer Sacher-Masoch) lent his name to the sexual acts which he describes in his work.


19th century

In the Victorian period, the quality of erotic fiction was much below that of the previous century—it was largely written by 'hacks'. Some works, however, borrowed from established literary models, such as
Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
. The period also featured a form of
social stratification Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and politi ...
. Even in the throes of orgasm, the social distinctions between master and servant (including form of address) were scrupulously observed. Significant elements of
sado-masochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refe ...
were present in some examples, perhaps reflecting the influence of the English public school, where
flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...
was routinely used as a punishment. These clandestine works were often anonymous or written under a pseudonym, and sometimes undated, thus definite information about them often proves elusive. English erotic novels from this period include '' The Lustful Turk'' (1828); ''
The Romance of Lust ''The Romance of Lust, or Early Experiences'' is a Victorian erotic novel written anonymously in four volumes during the years 1873–1876 and published by William Lazenby. Henry Spencer Ashbee discusses this novel in one of his bibliographi ...
'' (1873); '' The Convent School, or Early Experiences of A Young Flagellant'' (1876) by
Rosa Coote Rosa Coote is a fictional dominatrix appearing as a stock character in a number of works of Victorian erotica, including '' The Convent School, or Early Experiences of A Young Flagellant'' (as the notional author) by William DugdaleHenry Spencer As ...
seud. '' The Mysteries of Verbena House, or, Miss Bellasis Birched for Thieving'' (1882) by ''Etonensis'' seud. actually by
George Augustus Sala George Augustus Henry Fairfield Sala (November 1828 – 8 December 1895) was an author and journalist who wrote extensively for the ''Illustrated London News'' as G. A. S. and was most famous for his articles and leaders for ''The Daily Telegra ...
and
James Campbell Reddie James Campbell Reddie (26 November 1807 – 4 July 1878) was a 19th-century collector and author of pornography, who, writing as "James Campbell", worked for the publisher William Dugdale. According to Henry Spencer Ashbee, Reddie was self-taught ...
; ''
The Autobiography of a Flea ''The Autobiography of a Flea'' is an anonymous erotic novel first published in 1887 in London by Edward Avery. Later research has revealed that the author was a London lawyer of the time named Stanislas de Rhodes. The story is narrated by a ...
'' (1887); ''
Venus in India ''Venus in India, or Love adventures in Hindustan'' is a pornographic novel by the pseudonymous "Charles Devereaux" (variously spelled in the different editions) published by Auguste Brancart in Brussels in 1889. It purports to be the autobiogra ...
'' (1889) by 'Captain Charles Devereaux'; '' Flossie, a Venus of Fifteen: By one who knew this Charming Goddess and worshipped at her shrine'' (1897). A novel called ''Beatrice'', once marketed as another classic of Victorian erotica from the pen of the ubiquitous "Anon", now appears to be a very clever 20th-century pastiche of Victorian pornography. It first appeared in 1982 and was written by one Gordon Grimley, a sometime managing director of Penthouse International. Clandestine erotic periodicals of this age include '' The Pearl'', '' The Oyster'' and '' The Boudoir'', collections of erotic tales, rhymes, songs and parodies published in London between 1879 and 1883. The centre of the trade in such material in England at this period was Holywell Street, off the
Strand, London Strand (or the Strand) is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. It runs just over from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and i ...
. An important publisher of erotic material in the early 19th century was George Cannon (1789–1854), followed in mid-century by
William Dugdale Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject. Life Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coles ...
(1800–1868) and
John Camden Hotten John Camden Hotten (12 September 1832, Clerkenwell – 14 June 1873, Hampstead) was an English bibliophile and publisher. He is best known for his clandestine publishing of numerous erotic and pornographic titles. Life Hotten was born John Will ...
(1832–1873). An evaluation of 19th-century (pre-1885) and earlier underground erotica, from the author's own private archive, is provided by Victorian writer
Henry Spencer Ashbee Henry Spencer Ashbee (21 April 1834 – 29 July 1900)(Walter) was a book collector, writer, and bibliographer. He is notable for his massive, clandestine three-volume bibliography of erotic literature published under the pseudonym of Pisanus Frax ...
, using the pseudonym "Pisanus Fraxi", in his bibliographical trilogy ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' (1877), ''Centuria Librorum Absconditorum'' (1879) and ''Catena Librorum Tacendorum'' (1885). His plot summaries of the works he discusses in these privately printed volumes are themselves a contribution to the genre. Originally of very limited circulation, changing attitudes have led to his work now being widely available. Notable European works of erotica at this time were ''
Gamiani, or Two Nights of Excess ''Gamiani, or Two Nights of Excess'' (french: Gamiani, ou deux nuits d'excès) is a French erotic novel first published in 1833. Its authorship is anonymous, but it is believed to have been written by Alfred de Musset and the lesbian eponymous h ...
'' (1833) by Frenchman
Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...
and '' Venus in Furs'' (1870) by the
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n author
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch (; 27 January 1836 – 9 March 1895) was an Austrian nobleman, writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term ''masochism'' is derived from his name, invented by h ...
. The latter erotic novella brought the attention of the world to the phenomenon of
masochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...
, named after the author. Towards the end of the 19th century, a more "cultured" form of erotica began to appear by poets such as
Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
, who pursued themes of
paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...
,
lesbianism A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with fema ...
and sado-masochism in such works as ''
Lesbia Brandon ''Lesbia Brandon'' is an erotic novel written by Algernon Charles Swinburne between 1859 and 1868, but suppressed because it was considered pornographic in its day. It was originally illustrated by Simeon Solomon. Titled and published Never co ...
'' and in contributions to ''
The Whippingham Papers ''The Whippingham Papers'' is a Victorian work of sado-masochistic pornography by St George Stock (a probable pseudonym, also credited with ''The Romance of Chastisement'') and published by Edward Avery in December 1887. It consists of a collect ...
'' (1888) edited by St George Stock, author of ''
The Romance of Chastisement ''The Romance of Chastisement'' is a Victorian pornographic collection on the theme of flagellation by St George Stock (a probable pseudonym, also credited with '' The Whippingham Papers'') and published by John Camden Hotten in 1866. It was r ...
'' (1866). This was associated with the Decadent movement, in particular, with
Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the ...
and the '' Yellow Book''. But it was also to be found in France, amongst such writers as
Pierre Louys Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, author of ''
Les chansons de Bilitis ''The Songs of Bilitis'' (; french: Les Chansons de Bilitis) is a collection of erotic, essentially lesbian, poetry by Pierre Louÿs published in Paris in 1894. Since Louÿs claimed that he had translated the original poetry from Ancient Greek, ...
'' (1894) (a celebration of lesbianism and sexual awakening). Pioneering works of
gay male Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including '' ...
erotica from this time were '' The Sins of the Cities of the Plain'' (1881), which features the celebrated Victorian
transvestite Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western ...
duo of Boulton and Park as characters, and '' Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal'' (1893).Nelson, James. Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000Robert Gray and Christopher Keep, "An Uninterrupted Current: Homoeroticism and collaborative authorship in ''Teleny''", ''in'' Marjorie Stone, Judith Thompson (edd) "Literary Couplings: Writing Couples, Collaborators, and the Construction of Authorship", University of Wisconsin Press, 2007, , p.193 Two important publishers of erotic fiction at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th were
Leonard Smithers Leonard Charles Smithers (19 December 1861 – 19 December 1907) was a London bookseller and publisher associated with the Decadent movement. Biography Born in Sheffield, Smithers worked as a solicitor, qualifying in 1884,Jon R. Godsall, ''T ...
(1861–1907) and
Charles Carrington Charles Carrington (1857–1921) was a leading British publisher of erotica in late-19th- and early-20th-century Europe. Born ''Paul Harry Ferdinando'' in Bethnal Green, England on 11 November 1867, he moved in 1895 from London to Paris where h ...
(1867–1921),Rachel Potter, "Obscene Modernism and the Trade in Salacious Books", '' Modernism/modernity 404'', Volume 16, Number 1, January 2009, pp.87–104 both of whom were subject to legal injunctions from the British authorities in order to prohibit their trade in such material. Because of this legal harassment the latter conducted his business from Paris. Erotic fiction published by Carrington at this period includes '' Raped on the Railway: a True Story of a Lady who was first ravished and then flagellated on the Scotch Express'' (1894) and ''
The Memoirs of Dolly Morton ''The Memoirs of Dolly Morton: The Story of A Woman's Part in the Struggle to Free the Slaves, An Account of the Whippings, Rapes, and Violences that Preceded the Civil War in America, with Curious Anthropological Observations on the Radical Div ...
'' (1899) set on a slave-plantation in the Southern States of America.


20th century

20th-century erotic fiction includes such classics of the genre as: ''
Suburban Souls ''Suburban Souls: The Erotic Psychology of a Man and a Maid'' is an anonymous erotic novel in three volumes originally printed and published in Paris in one hundred and fifty copies in 1901 for distribution amongst private subscribers only. The bo ...
'' (1901), published by Carrington and possibly written by him also; ''The Confessions of Nemesis Hunt'' (issued in three volumes 1902, 1903, 1906), probably by George Reginald Bacchus, printed by Duringe of Paris for Leonard Smithers in London; ''
Josephine Mutzenbacher ''Josephine Mutzenbacher or The Story of a Viennese Whore, as Told by Herself'' (german: link=no, Josefine Mutzenbacher oder Die Geschichte einer Wienerischen Dirne von ihr selbst erzählt) is an erotic novel first published anonymously in Vien ...
'' (1906) by Anon. (presumably
Felix Salten Felix Salten (; 6 September 1869 – 8 October 1945) was an Austro-Hungarian author and literary critic in Vienna. Life and death Salten was born Siegmund Salzmann on 6 September 1869 in Pest, Austria-Hungary. His father was Fülöp Salzmann, t ...
); ''
Sadopaideia ''Sadopaideia: Being the Experiences of Cecil Prendergast Undergraduate of the University of Oxford Shewing How he was Led Through the Pleasant Paths of Masochism to the Supreme joys of Sadism'' is a pornographic novel published in 1907 by " Asha ...
'' (1907) by Anon. (possibly
Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
); ''Les Mémoires d'un jeune Don Juan'' (1907) and the somewhat disturbing '' Les onze mille verges'' (1907) by Guillaume Apollinaire; '' The Way of a Man with a Maid'' (1908) and ''A Weekend Visit'' by Anon.; ''Pleasure Bound Afloat'' (1908), ''Pleasure Bound Ashore'' (1909) and ''Maudie'' (1909) by Anon. (probably George Reginald Bacchus), and ''My Lustful Adventures'' (1911) by the pseudonymous 'Ramrod'; '' Manuel de civilité pour les petites filles à l'usage des maisons d'éducation'' (1917) and '' Trois filles de leur mère'' (1926) by Pierre Louys; ''
Story of the Eye ''Story of the Eye'' (french: L'histoire de l'œil) is a 1928 novella written by Georges Bataille that details the increasingly bizarre sexual perversions of a pair of teenage lovers, including an early depiction of omorashi fetishism in Western ...
'' (1928) by
Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels ...
; ''
Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towa ...
'' (1934) and ''
Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...
'' (1938) by
Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi- autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical re ...
; The ''
Story of O ''Story of O'' (french: Histoire d'O, link=no, ) is an erotic novel published in 1954 by French author Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage, and published in French by Jean-Jacques Pauvert. Desclos did not reveal herself as the autho ...
'' (1954) by
Pauline Réage Anne Cécile Desclos (23 September 1907 – 27 April 1998) was a French journalist and novelist who wrote under the pen names Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage. She is best known for her erotic novel '' Story of O'' (1954). Early life Born i ...
; ''Helen and Desire'' (1954) and ''Thongs'' (1955) by
Alexander Trocchi Alexander Whitelaw Robertson Trocchi ( ; 30 July 1925 – 15 April 1984) was a Scottish novelist. Early life and career Trocchi was born in Glasgow to Alfred (formerly Alfredo) Trocchi, a music-hall performer of Italian parentage, and Anni ...
; '' Ada, or Ardor'' (1969) by
Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...
; ''Journal'' (1966), '' Delta of Venus'' (1978) and '' Little Birds'' (1979) by
Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...
and ''The Bicycle Rider'' (1985) by Guy Davenport and ''
Lila Says ''Lila Says'' ( French title: ''Lila dit ça'') is a 2004 French film directed by Ziad Doueiri. The plot is based on the novel of the same title written by "Chimo" (a pseudonym). Plot Chimo (played by Mohammed Khouas) is a nineteen-year-old se ...
'' (1999) by an anonymous author.
Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...
's ''
Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Hum ...
'' is usually described as an erotic novel, but in the view of some it is a literary drama with elements of eroticism. Like Nabokov's ''Lolita'', Johannes Linnankoski's '' The Song of the Blood-Red Flower'' is also often described as erotic novel, only a little explicit and cleverly cloaked in gentler romance. ''Lolita'' and ''The Story of O'' were published by Olympia Press, a
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
-based
publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
, launched in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a rebadged version of the Obelisk Press he inherited from his father
Jack Kahane Jack Kahane (20 July 1887, in Manchester – 2 September 1939, in Paris) was a writer and publisher who founded the Obelisk Press in Paris in 1929. He was the son of Selig and Susy Kahane, both immigrants from Romania. Kahane, a novelist, began th ...
. It published a mix of erotic fiction and
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...
literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to includ ...
works. ''
The Girls of Radcliff Hall ''The Girls of Radcliff Hall'' is a ''roman à clef'' novel in the form of a lesbian girls' school story written in the 1930s by the British composer and bon-vivant Gerald Berners, the 14th Lord Berners, under the pseudonym "Adela Quebec", publ ...
'' is a ''
roman à clef ''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship be ...
'' novel in the form of a
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
girls' school story written in the 1930s by the British composer and bon-vivant Gerald Berners, the 14th Lord Berners, under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
"Adela Quebec", published and distributed privately in 1932. Another trend in the twentieth century was the rise of the
lesbian pulp fiction Lesbian pulp fiction is a genre of lesbian literature that refers to any mid-20th century paperback novel or pulp magazine with overtly lesbian themes and content. Lesbian pulp fiction was published in the 1950s and 60s by many of the same paper ...
. Works such as ''
The Price of Salt ''The Price of Salt'' (later republished under the title ''Carol'') is a 1952 romance novel by Patricia Highsmith, first published under the pseudonym "Claire Morgan." Highsmith—known as a suspense writer based on her psychological thril ...
'' (1952), ''
Spring Fire ''Spring Fire'', is a 1952 paperback novel written by Marijane Meaker, under the pseudonym "Vin Packer". It is the first lesbian paperback novel, and the beginning of the lesbian pulp fiction genre; it also addresses issues of conformity in 1950 ...
'' (1952), ''
Desert of the Heart ''Desert of the Heart'' is a 1964 novel written by Jane Rule. The story was adapted into the 1985 film ''Desert Hearts'', directed by Donna Deitch. The book was originally published in hardback by Macmillan Canada. It was one of the very few novel ...
'' (1964), and ''
Patience and Sarah ''Patience and Sarah'' is a 1969 historical fiction novel with strong lesbian themes by Alma Routsong, using the pen name Isabel Miller. It was originally self-published under the title ''A Place for Us'' and eventually found a publisher as '' ...
'' (1969) were only a few examples of this subgenre. Many of the authors were women themselves, such as
Gale Wilhelm Gale Wilhelm (April 26, 1908 – July 11, 1991) was an American writer most noted for two books that featured lesbian themes written in the 1930s: '' We Too Are Drifting'' and '' Torchlight to Valhalla''. Early life Wilhelm was born April 26, ...
and
Ann Bannon Ann Weldy (born September 15, 1932), better known by her pen name Ann Bannon, is an American author who, from 1957 to 1962, wrote six lesbian pulp fiction novels known as ''The Beebo Brinker Chronicles''. The books' enduring popularity and impac ...
. Many gay men also enjoyed
gay pulp fiction Gay pulp fiction, or gay pulps, refers to printed works, primarily fiction, that include references to male homosexuality, specifically male gay sex, and that are cheaply produced, typically in paperback books made of wood pulp paper; lesbian pul ...
, which borrowed the same
sexploitation A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit s ...
format as the lesbian books.


Asian erotic fiction

Chinese literature has a rich catalogue of erotic novels that were published during the mid-Ming to early-Qing dynasties. Some well-known erotic novels with explicit sexuality during this period include '' Ruyijun zhuan'' (''The Lord of Perfect Satisfaction''), '' The Embroidered Couch'', '' Su'e pian'', '' Langshi'', '' Chipozi zhuan'', '' Zhulin yeshi'', and '' The Carnal Prayer Mat''. The critic Charles Stone has argued that pornographic technique is the "union of banality, obscenity, and repetition", and contains just the "rudiments" of plot, style, and characterization, while anything that is not sexually stimulating is avoided. If this is the case, he concluded, then ''The Lord of Perfect Satisfaction'' is the "fountainhead of Chinese erotica", but not pornography. The novel ''
Jin Ping Mei ''Jin Ping Mei'' () — translated into English as ''The Plum in the Golden Vase'' or ''The Golden Lotus'' — is a Chinese novel of manners composed in vernacular Chinese during the latter half of the 16th century during the late Ming dynasty ...
'' (or ''The Plum in the Golden Vase''), written by an author who used only a pseudonym (as his real name is unknown), is generally regarded as the greatest of all Chinese erotic novels. Its literary status is unparalleled among erotic fiction and its has been described by critic Stephen Marche in the ''
Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...
'' as "one of the world's great novels, if not simply the greatest." There is also a tradition of erotic fiction in Japan. Some portion of this is
doujinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created by ...
, or independent comics, which are often
fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, setti ...
. The sharebon (洒落本) was a pre-modern Japanese literary genre. Plots revolved around humor and entertainment at the pleasure quarters. It is a subgenre of gesaku.


Contemporary erotic fiction

In the 21st century, a number of female authors, including
Alison Tyler Alison Tyler (born 1969) is the pseudonym of an American author, editor and publisher of erotica living in Northern California. She has authored over 20 explicit novels, hundreds of short stories and has edited more than 60 erotic anthologies. S ...
,
Rachel Kramer Bussel Rachel Kramer Bussel (born 1975) is an author, columnist, and editor, specializing in erotica. She previously studied at the New York University School of Law and earned her bachelor's degree in political science and women's studies from the U ...
, and
Carol Queen Carol Queen (born 1957) is an American author, editor, sociologist, and sexologist active in the sex-positive feminism movement. Queen is a two time Grand Marshal of San Francisco LGBTQ Pride. Queen has written on human sexuality in books such a ...
, rose to prominence.
Mitzi Szereto Mitzi Szereto is an author of multi-genre fiction and nonfiction. She has written novels and short stories, and edited fiction and nonfiction anthologies, including her popular true crime franchise "The Best New True Crime Stories." Her books to ...
is an editor and author who said she wants to see the term ''erotica'' removed from novels and anthologies that include depictions of sexual activities. Other authors celebrate the term but also question why literature featuring sexual activity should be considered outside literary fiction. The debate was rekindled in 2012 by the release of the ''50 Shades of Grey'' trilogy written by
E. L. James Erika Mitchell (born 7 March 1963), known by her pen name E. L. James, is a British author. She wrote the best-selling erotic romance trilogy ''Fifty Shades of Grey'', '' Fifty Shades Darker'', and '' Fifty Shades Freed'', along with the compa ...
. The success of her erotica for every woman, dubbed 'mommyporn', gave rise to satires like ''Fifty Shames of Earl Grey'' by 'Fanny Merkin' (real name Andrew Shaffer), a book of essays called ''Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades'' (ed. Lori Perkins) and editors of erotic imprints re-evaluating the content and presentation of the genre. One development in contemporary erotica is the knowledge that many women, and not just men, are aroused by it. This is regardless of whether it is traditional pornography or tailor-made
women's erotica Women's erotica is any erotic material that caters specifically to women target- demographic of various sexual preferences. When erotica is specifically directed at lesbians, it is referred to as lesbian erotica. Women's erotica is available fr ...
.
Romantic novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...
s are sometimes marketed as erotica—or vice versa—as "mainstream" romance in recent decades has begun to exhibit blatant (if poetic) descriptions of sex. Erotic romance is a relatively new genre of romance with an erotic theme and very explicit love scenes, but with a romance at the heart of the story. Erotic fantasy is a
subgenre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
of
fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
and utilizes erotica in a fantasy setting. These stories can essentially cover any of the other subgenres of fantasy, such as
high fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, ...
, contemporary fantasy, or even
historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Art ...
. The extents of the genre to break existing conventions and limits in subject matter have managed to shock popular audiences, with genres such as
monster erotica Monster erotica, also referred to as monster porn or cryptozoological erotica is a subgenre of erotic literature that involves sexual encounters between humans and monsters. It sometimes crosses over with erotic horror. Themes The monsters fe ...
emerging with the ease of digital publishing. Erotic fantasy fiction has similarities to
romantic fantasy Romantic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the chivalric romance genre. One of the key features of romantic fantasy involves the focus on relationships, social, ...
but is more explicit. Erotic fantasy can also be found in
fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, setti ...
, which uses plot elements and characters from popular fiction such as television, film, or novels. Erotic fan fiction may use characters from existing works in non-canon relationships, such as
slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...
(homoerotic) fan fiction. Fan fiction and its Japanese counterpart,
doujinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created by ...
, account for an enormous proportion of all erotica written today.


Internet erotic fiction

The Internet and digital revolution in erotic depiction has changed the forms of representing scenes of a sexual nature. Jennifer Anne Skipp concluded that erotic literature was available among the poor and performed at public readings in 18th-century Britain. Erotica was present on the Internet from its earliest days, as seen from rec.arts.erotica on
Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it wa ...
. This news group was a moderated forum for the exchange of erotic stories that predated the creation of the
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web ...
. Most of this migrated to the alt.* hierarchy forums by the 1990s, including
alt.sex.stories alt.sex.stories is a Usenet newsgroup for erotic stories created on May 7, 1992, by Tim Pierce as an alternative to pre-existing alt erotica newsgroups. The group was initially unmoderated, a feature that was not shared by some of the other Use ...
. The vast majority of Internet erotica is written by amateurs for the enjoyment of the author and readers instead of for profit. The increased interactivity and anonymity allows casual or hobby writers the opportunity not only to author their own stories but also to share them with a world-wide audience. Many authors adopt colorful pseudonyms and can develop cult followings within their genre, although a small number use their real names. Among
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
or
non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
authors, it is a common practice to adopt a feminine or masculine alter-ego, although a writer may use their own given name.


Student erotica

In the 21st century, a new
literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided in ...
of
student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementa ...
published journals at American universities was started. The following is a partial list of publications: * ''The Moderator'' –
Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...
* ''Virgin Mawrtyr'' –
Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...
* ''H-Bomb'' –
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
* ''Quake'' –
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
* ''Squirm'' –
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...
* ''Vita Excolatur'' –
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
* ''Bang'' and Untouchables Swarthmore College#Media –
Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...
* ''
Boink ''Boink'' was a magazine of erotica started by Alecia Oleyourryk, a magazine journalism student at Boston University, and the photographer Christopher Anderson. The magazine was also educational in scope and purpose. The first issue was released ...
'' –
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...


Other accounts


Writings of prostitutes

Prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
was the focus of much of the earliest erotic works. The term ''pornography'' is derived from the Greek ''pornographos'' meaning "writer about prostitutes", originally denoting descriptions of the lives and manners of prostitutes and their customers in
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...
. According to
Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of ...
in '' The Deipnosophists'' these constituted a considerable genre, with many lubricious treatises, stories and dramas on the subject. A surviving example of this genre is
Lucian of Samosata Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed superstiti ...
's ''Dialogues of the Courtesans''. Accounts of prostitution have continued as a major part of the genre of erotic literature. In the 18th century, directories of prostitutes and their services, such as ''
Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies ''Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies'', published from 1757 to 1795, was an annual directory of prostitutes then working in Georgian London. A small pocketbook, it was printed and published in Covent Garden, and sold for two s ...
'' (1757–1795), provided both entertainment and instruction. In the 19th century, the sensational journalism of
W. T. Stead William Thomas Stead (5 July 184915 April 1912) was a British newspaper editor who, as a pioneer of investigative journalism, became a controversial figure of the Victorian era. Stead published a series of hugely influential campaigns whilst ed ...
's '' The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon'' (1885) about the procuring of underage girls into the brothels of Victorian London provided a stimulus for the erotic imagination. Stead's account was widely translated and the revelation of "padded rooms for the purpose of stifling the cries of the tortured victims of lust and brutality" and the symbolic figure of "The Minotaur of London" confirmed European observers worst imaginings about "Le Sadisme anglais" and inspired erotic writers to write of similar scenes set in London or involving sadistic English gentlemen. Such writers include D'Annunzio in ''Il Piacere'', Paul-Jean Toulet in ''Monsieur de Paur'' (1898),
Octave Mirbeau Octave Mirbeau (16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still appealing to the ...
in '' Jardin des Supplices'' (1899) and
Jean Lorrain Jean Lorrain (9 August 1855 in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime – 30 June 1906), born Paul Alexandre Martin Duval, was a French poet and novelist of the Symbolist school. Lorrain was a dedicated disciple of dandyism and spent much of his time among ...
in ''Monsieur de Phocas'' (1901). Well-known recent works in this genre are '' The Happy Hooker: My Own Story'' (1971) by the Dutch madame
Xaviera Hollander Xaviera Hollander (born 15 June 1943) is a Dutch former call girl, madam, and author. She is best known for her best-selling memoir '' The Happy Hooker: My Own Story''. Early life Hollander was born Xaviera "Vera" de Vries in Surabaya, Japanes ...
and ''
The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl ''The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl'' are memoirs of a former London call girl written by Dr. Brooke Magnanti, under the pseudonym '' Belle de Jour''. From the summer of 2003 to the autumn of 2004 Belle charted her day-to-day advent ...
'' (2005) by Belle de Jour.


Erotic memoirs

Erotic memoirs include
Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...
's '' Histoire de ma vie'', from the 18th century. Notable English works of this genre from the 19th century include ''The Ups and Downs of Life'' (1867) by
Edward Sellon Edward Sellon (1818–1866) was an English writer, translator, and illustrator of erotic literature. Family Edward Sellon was born 6 January 1818 in Brighton, England (bap. 9 July 1818 in Paddington, England), the only child of Edward Sell ...
and '' My Secret Life'' by "Walter". Edward Sellon was a writer, translator and illustrator of erotic literature who wrote erotica for the pornographic publisher William Dugdale, including such works as '' The New Epicurean'' (1865). The true identity of "Walter" is unknown. Ian Gibson, in ''The Erotomaniac'' speculates that ''My Secret Life'' was actually written by Henry Spencer Ashbee and therefore it is possible that "Walter" is a fiction. A famous German erotic work of this time, published in two parts in 1868 and 1875 entitled ''Pauline the Prima Donna'' purports to be the memoirs of the opera singer Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient. Various discrepancies with known facts of the singer's life, however, have led many to doubt the veracity of this book and the erotic adventures contained in the second volume, at least, appear to be implausible. These include the author indulging in lesbian sadomasochism, group sex, sodomy, bestiality,
scatology In medicine and biology, scatology or coprology is the study of feces. Scatological studies allow one to determine a wide range of biological information about a creature, including its diet (and thus where it has been), health and disease ...
,
necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ...
, prostitution, and vampirism all before she had reached the age of 27. 20th-century contributions to the genre include
Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1855 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...
's ''
My Life and Loves ''My Life and Loves'' is the autobiography of the Ireland-born, naturalized-American writer and editor Frank Harris (1856–1931). As published privately by Harris between 1922 and 1927, and by Jack Kahane's Obelisk Press in 1931, the work consi ...
'' (1922–27) and the convicted Austrian sex criminal Edith Cadivec's ''Confessions and Experiences'' and its sequel ''Eros, the Meaning of My Life'' (published together 1930-1). A 21st-century example is '' One Hundred Strokes of the Brush Before Bed'' (2004) by
Melissa Panarello Melissa Panarello (born 3 December 1985, in Catania, Italy), alias Melissa P., is an Italian writer. Biography Panarello grew up in the small Sicilian town of Aci Castello, near Catania in Italy. In 2003, she became famous for authoring the ...
.


Sex manuals

Sex manuals are among the oldest forms of erotic literature. Three brief fragments of a sex manual written in the fourth century BC that is attributed to
Philaenis of Samos Philaenis of Samos was supposedly the author of a famous ancient sex manual. According to a surviving fragment of a treatise which claims to have been written by her, she was from Samos, and her father was called Ocymenes. However, many modern s ...
have survived. Modern scholars generally regard it as a work of
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
probably written by a man, and this was most likely Athenian sophist
Polycrates Polycrates (; grc-gre, Πολυκράτης), son of Aeaces, was the tyrant of Samos from the 540s BC to 522 BC. He had a reputation as both a fierce warrior and an enlightened tyrant. Sources The main source for Polycrates' life and activ ...
. Other examples of the genre from the classical world include the lost works of
Elephantis Elephantis ( grc, Ἐλεφαντίς) (fl. late 1st century BC) was a Greek poet and physician apparently renowned in the classical world as the author of a notorious sex manual. Due to the popularity of courtesans taking animal names in classica ...
and
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
's ''
Ars Amatoria The ''Ars amatoria'' ( en, The Art of Love) is an instructional elegy series in three books by the ancient Roman poet Ovid. It was written in 2 AD. Background Book one of ''Ars amatoria'' was written to show a man how to find a woman. In book t ...
''. The Indian ''
Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; sa, कामसूत्र, , ; ) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly ...
'' is one of the world's best-known works of this type. The ''
Ananga Ranga The ''Ananga Ranga'' ( hi, अनंगरंग, lit=Stage of Love) or ''Kamaledhiplava'' ( hi, link=no, कमलेधिप्लव, lit=Boat in the Sea of Love) is an Indian sex manual written by Kalyana malla in the 15th or 16th century. Th ...
'', a 12th-century collection of Indian erotic works, is a lesser known one. '' The Perfumed Garden for the Soul's Recreation'', a 16th-century
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
work by Sheikh Nefzaoui, is also well-known and is often reprinted and translated. There is anecdotal evidence that, as late as the mid-20th century, sex therapists and other physicians prescribed erotic literature as treatment for erectile dysfunction. The ancient Chinese versions of the sex manual include the texts that contain the Taoist sexual practices. These include books that show illustrations of the ideal sexual behavior because sex in this religion is not considered taboo but a manifestation of the concept of the
yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...
, wherein the male and female engage in an act of "joining of energy" or "joining of essences". The belief is that proper sexual practice is key to achieving good health. The manuals included the Ishinpo text, which is a medical document that also included sections devoted to sexual hygiene and sexual manuals of the Tang and Han dynasties.
Chi kung ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...
manuals include warming a wet towel and covering penis for a few minutes, then rubbing one direction away from base of penis hundreds of times daily, similar to
chi kung ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...
. Squeezing sphincter while semi-erect or fully erect dozens of times daily, particularly a few hours before intercourse will help delay orgasm or enhance non-ejaculatory pleasure. The Universal Tao system was developed by Mantak Chia to teach Taoist meditative and exercise techniques to balance the body and increase and refine one's vital energy, or chi ("chee"). Front and back channel, the back channel is where the perineum is located between anus and scrotum moving up the tailbone to the crown, the front channel is moving down the front of your body down the midline. Breathing up the back channel and then breathing out from the front channel down to and from the abdomen moves chi. Many practices combined help chi to be transformed into spiritual energy or shen. Not all sex manuals were produced to arouse or inform readers about sexual acts. Some were created as a form of satire or social criticism, as in the case of a mock-sex manual produced in the early sixteenth century by Pietro Aretino. It was in response to the clerical censorship of the nude engravings of the Roman artists
Marcantonio Raimondi Marcantonio Raimondi, often called simply Marcantonio (c. 1470/82 – c. 1534), was an Italian engraver, known for being the first important printmaker whose body of work consists largely of prints copying paintings. He is therefore a key figu ...
. This was released in cheap wood, with a corresponding sonnet serving as the voice of the characters.


Legal status


Early legislation


To 1857

Erotic or pornographic works have often been prosecuted, censored and destroyed by the authorities on grounds of obscenity. In Medieval England, erotic or pornographic publications were the concern of the ecclesiastical courts. After the Reformation the jurisdiction of these courts declined in favour of the Crown which licensed every printed book. Prosecutions of books for their erotic content alone were rare and works which attacked the church or state gave much more concern to the authorities than erotica or '
obscene libel The publication of an obscene libel was an offence under the common law of England. Prior to the abolition bsection 1of the Criminal Law Act 1967 of the distinction between felony and misdemeanour, it was regarded as a misdemeanour. It has been abo ...
' as it was then known. For instance the Licensing Act of 1662 was aimed generally at "heretical, seditious, schismatical or offensive books of pamphlets" rather than just erotica per se. Even this Licensing Act was allowed to lapse in 1695 and no attempt made to renew it. The first conviction for
obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be us ...
in England occurred in 1727, when
Edmund Curll Edmund Curll (''c.'' 1675 – 11 December 1747) was an English bookseller and publisher. His name has become synonymous, through the attacks on him by Alexander Pope, with unscrupulous publication and publicity. Curll rose from poverty to wealt ...
was fined for the publication of '' Venus in the Cloister or The Nun in her Smock'' under the
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...
offence of disturbing the King's peace. This set a legal precedent for other convictions. The publication of other books by Curll, however, considered seditious and blasphemous, such as ''The Memoirs of John Ker'', apparently most offended the authorities. Prosecutions of erotica later in the 18th century were rare and were most often taken because of the admixture of seditious and blasphemous material with the porn.


1857–1959

It was the Obscene Publications Act 1857 which made the sale of obscene material a statutory offense, giving the courts power to seize and destroy offending material. The origins of the Act itself were in a trial for the sale of pornography presided over by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Campbell, at the same time as a debate in the House of Lords over a bill aiming to restrict the sale of poisons. Campbell was taken by the analogy between the two situations, famously referring to the London pornography trade as "a sale of poison more deadly than prussic acid, strychnine or arsenic", and proposed a bill to restrict the sale of pornography; giving statutory powers of destruction would allow for a much more effective degree of prosecution. The bill was controversial at the time, receiving strong opposition from both
Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...
. It was passed on the assurance by the Lord Chief Justice that it was "intended to apply exclusively to works written for the single purpose of corrupting the morals of youth and of a nature calculated to shock the common feelings of decency in any well-regulated mind." The House of Commons successfully amended it so as not to apply to Scotland, on the grounds that Scottish common law was sufficiently stringent. The Act provided for the seizure and destruction of any material deemed to be obscene, and held for sale or distribution, following information being laid before a "court of summary jurisdiction" (
magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...
). The Act required that following evidence of a common-law offence being committed – for example, on the report of a plain-clothes policeman who had successfully purchased the material – the court could issue a warrant for the premises to be searched and the material seized. The proprietor then would be called upon to attend court and give reason why the material should not be destroyed. Critically, the Act did not define "obscene", leaving this to the will of the courts. While the Act itself did not change, the scope of the work affected by it did. In 1868 Sir Alexander Cockburn, Campbell's successor as Lord Chief Justice, held in an appeal that the test of obscenity was "whether the tendency of the matter charged as obscenity is to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences and into whose hands a publication of this sort may fall." This was clearly a major change from Campbell's opinion only ten years before – the test now being the effect on someone open to corruption who obtained a copy, not whether the material was ''intended'' to corrupt or offend. Cockburn's declaration remained in force for several decades, and most of the high profile seizures under the Act relied on this interpretation. Known as the
Hicklin test The Hicklin test is a legal test for obscenity established by the English case ''Regina v Hicklin'' (1868). At issue was the statutory interpretation of the word "obscene" in the Obscene Publications Act 1857, which authorized the destruction of ...
no cognisance was taken of the literary merit of a book or on the extent of the offending text within the book in question. The widened scope of the original legislation led to the subsequent notorious targeting of now acknowledged classics of world literature by such authors as Zola,
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...
and D.H. Lawrence plus medical textbooks by such as
Havelock Ellis Henry Havelock Ellis (2 February 1859 – 8 July 1939) was an English physician, eugenicist, writer, progressive intellectual and social reformer who studied human sexuality. He co-wrote the first medical textbook in English on homosexuality i ...
rather than the blatant erotica which was the original target of this law. In contrast to England, where actions against obscene literature were the preserve of the magistrates, such actions were the responsibility of the Postal Inspection Service in America. They were embodied in the federal and state
Comstock laws The Comstock laws were a set of federal acts passed by the United States Congress under the Grant administration along with related state laws.Dennett p.9 The "parent" act (Sect. 211) was passed on March 3, 1873, as the Act for the Suppression of ...
and named after the postal officer and anti-obscenity crusader
Anthony Comstock Anthony Comstock (March 7, 1844 – September 21, 1915) was an anti-vice activist, United States Postal Inspector, and secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV), who was dedicated to upholding Christian morality. He ...
, who proved himself officious in the work of suppression both in his official capacity and through his New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. The first such law was the Comstock Act, (ch. 258 enacted March 3, 1873) which made it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious" materials through the mail. Twenty-four states passed similar prohibitions on materials distributed within the states.


Modern legislation

This question of whether a book had literary merit eventually prompted a change in the law in both America and the UK. In the United Kingdom the Obscene Publications Act 1959 provided for the protection of "literature" but conversely increased the penalties against pure "pornography." The law defined obscenity and separated it from serious works of art. The new definition read:
article shall be deemed to be obscene if its effect or (where the article comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.
After this piece of legislation questions of the literary merit of the work in question were allowed to be put before the judge and jury as in the '' Lady Chatterley'' trial. The publishers of the latter book were found not guilty by the court on the grounds of the literary merit of the book. In later prosecutions of literary erotica under the provisions of the act, however, even purely pornographic works with no apparent literary merit escaped destruction by the authorities. Purely textual pornographic texts, with no hint of
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...
, ceased to be brought to trial following the collapse of the ''Inside Linda Lovelace'' trial in 1976. However, in October 2008, a man was unsuccessfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act (the '' R v Walker'' trial) for posting fictional written material to the Internet allegedly describing the kidnap, rape and murder of the pop group Girls Aloud. The
First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the ...
gives protection to written fiction, although the legal presumption that it does not protect obscene literature has never been overcome. Instead, pornography has successfully been defined legally as non-obscene, or "obscene" been shown to be so vague a term as to be unenforceable. In 1998 Brian Dalton was charged with creation and possession of child pornography under an Ohio obscenity law. The stories were works of fiction concerning sexually abusing children which he wrote and kept, unpublished, in his private journal. He accepted a plea bargain, pleaded guilty and was convicted. Five years later, the conviction was vacated. Importing books and texts across national borders can sometimes be subject to more stringent laws than in the nations concerned. Customs officers are often permitted to seize even merely 'indecent' works that would be perfectly legal to sell and possess once one is inside the nations concerned.
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
has been implicated in such border seizures. Although the year 1857, as well as 1959 legislation, outlawed the publication, retail and trafficking of certain types of writings and images regarded as pornographic, and would order the destruction of shop and warehouse stock meant for sale, the private possession of and viewing of pornography was not prosecuted in those times.H. Montgomery Hyde ''A History of Pornography''. (1969) London, Heinemann: 14 In some nations, even purely textual erotic literature is still deemed illegal and is also prosecuted.


See also


Notes


References

* Brulotte, Gaëtan & Phillips, John (eds.) (2006) ''Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature.'' New York: Routledge * Gibson, Ian (2001) ''The Erotomaniac'' London: Faber & Faber * H. Montgomery Hyde (1964) ''A History of Pornography''. London: Heinemann * Kearney, Patrick J. (1982) ''A History of Erotic Literature'', Parragon, * Kronhausen, Phyllis & Eberhard (1959) ''Pornography and the Law, The Psychology of Erotic Realism and Pornography''. New York: Ballantine Books * Kronhausen, Phyllis & Eberhard (1969) ''Erotic Fantasies, a Study of Sexual Imagination''. New York: Grove Press * Muchembled, Robert (2008) ''Orgasm and the West: a history of pleasure from the 16th century to the present'',
Polity A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of ...
, * * Weller, Michael J. ''The Secret Blue Book''. Home Baked Book

London. * Linda Williams (film critic), Williams, Linda (1999) ''Hardcore: Power, Pleasure, and the 'Frenzy of the Visible. Berkeley: University of California Press


Further reading

* With an introduction by G. Legman. * * * * * * * * A Bibliography of Works Published by
Charles Carrington Charles Carrington (1857–1921) was a leading British publisher of erotica in late-19th- and early-20th-century Europe. Born ''Paul Harry Ferdinando'' in Bethnal Green, England on 11 November 1867, he moved in 1895 from London to Paris where h ...
*


History


General

* Atkins, John (1970) ''Sex in Literature'', 4 vols. 1970–1982 * Bertolotti, Alessandro. Curiosa la bibliotheque érotique. Paris, Editions La Martiniere, 2012, * Di Folco, Philippe, ed. (2005) ''Dictionnaire de la pornographie''. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, * Englisch, Paul (1927) ''Geschichte der erotischen Literatur'', 1927, Reprint 1977, * Fischer, Carolin (1997) ''Gärten der Lust: eine Geschichte erregender Lektüren'', Stuttgart; Weimar: Metzler , paperback: München: Dt. Taschenbuch-Verlag, 2000 * Gnüg, Hiltrud (2002) ''Der erotische Roman: von der Renaissance bis zur Gegenwart'', Ditzingen: Reclam * Kronhausen, Eberhard & Phyllis (1969) ''Bücher aus dem Giftschrank: eine Analyse der verbotenen und verfemten erotischen Literatur'' * Pia, Pascal, ed. (1971) ''Dictionnaire des œuvres érotiques''. Paris: Mercure de France * Schreiber, Hermann (1969) ''Erotische Texte: sexualpathologische Erscheinungen in der Literatur'' * Spedding, Patrick, curator (2010)
Lewd and Scandalous Books: An exhibition of material from the Monash University Library Rare Books Collection
', Clayton (Melbourne): Monash University,


Ancient world and Middle Ages

* Leick, G. (1994) ''Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature'' * Mulchandani, S. (2006) ''Erotic Literature of Ancient India: Kama Sutra, Koka Shastra, Gita Govindam, Ananga Ranga''


Modern times to 1900

* Goulemot, J. (1993) ''Gefährliche Bücher: erotische Literatur, Pornographie, Leser und Zensur im 18. Jahrhundert'' * Moulton, I. (2000) ''Before Pornography: erotic writing in early modern Europe''


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erotic Literature * Literary genres