Venus in England
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Along with Paris, London in the second half of the 19th century was one of the first modern, urbanized societies with a literate population. Literacy is one of the prerequisites for the spreading of printed erotica and pornography. Henry Spencer Ashbee's bibliography has proven to be invaluable in documenting this period of erotic fiction.
The quintessential English erotic novel is Fanny Hill, but even Richardson's Pamela and Clarissa provided voyeuristic satisfaction to a new English audience. The development and rise of the novel as new genre, parallels the development of the erotic novel.
Even in the 17th century, when France had the reputation for erotica, and some English erotica consisted of French translations (the famous "whore dialogues") there were local authors of bawdy erotica like John Wilmot.
A special mention must go to the authors of Grub Street.
English erotica has some characteristics of its own, the most notable is that they are believed to be fond of spanking and flagellation. The French even called it Le vice anglais. Theresa Berkeley ran a brothel specializing in these services.
Notes
- Victorian erotica
- British exploitation
- Censorship in the United Kingdom
- United Kingdom
- Censorship
- William Dugdale
- William Cademan
- Lady Chatterley's Lover
- Steven Marcus
- Bradford Keyes Mudge
- The Lustful Turk
- Henry Spencer Ashbee
- Theresa Berkeley
- Charles Carrington
- erotica
- Fanny Hill
- flagellation
- Merryland
- The Pearl: A Journal of Facetive and Voluptuous Reading (1879)
- Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded
- Pamela Green
- John Wilmot