Erotic literature  

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Milesian tale, list of authors of erotic works, romance fiction, sex in literature, erotic memoir

Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts which sexually arouse the reader, whether written with that intention or not. Such erotica takes the form of novels, short stories, poetry, true-life memoirs, and sex manuals. Erotic literature has often been subject to censorship and legal restraints on publication.

Contents

History

Erotic fiction is the name given to fiction that deals with sex or sexual themes, generally in a more literary or serious way than the fiction seen in pornographic magazines and sometimes including elements of satire or social criticism.

History of western erotic fiction and sex manuals

Ancient times

ancient erotica

Classic erotica from the Ancient World includes the Song of Songs from the Old Testament and the Roman Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter (later made into a film by Fellini).

Sex manuals such as the Kama Sutra are some of the best known works of erotic literature. The Ananga Ranga is a lesser known one, aimed specifically at preventing the separation of a husband and wife.

Erotic fiction from the Roman period- more appropriately called ribaldry - includes the Satyricon of Petronius (later made into a film by Fellini. The output of literary eroticism during the Roman era featured more poetry than prose, see Latin profanity.

Middle Ages

medieval erotica

From the Medieval period we have the Decameron (1353) by the Italian , Giovanni Boccaccio (made into a film by Pasolini) 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 USA and the UK. For instance between 1954 and 1958 eight orders for destruction of the book were made by English magistrates.


Renaissance

Renaissance erotica

From the fifteenth century another classic of Italian erotica is the Facetiae of Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini.

The sixteenth century was notable for the Heptameron of Marguerite de Navarre (1558), inspired by Boccaccio's Decameron.

Enlightenment

18th century literature, 18th century erotica, libertine novel

An early pioneer of the publication of erotic works in England was Edmund Curll (1675-1747). The rise of the novel in 18th century England provided a new medium for erotica. One of the most famous in this new genre was Fanny Hill by John Cleland. This book set a new standard in literary smut and has often been adapted for the cinema in the 20th century.

The rise of the novel in 18th century England provided a new medium for erotica. One of the most famous in this new genre was Fanny Hill by John Cleland. This book set a new standard in literary smut and has often been adapted for the cinema in the 20th century.

French writers at this time also wrote erotica. A famous example is Thérèse Philosophe (1748) by Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens which describes a girl's inititation into the secrets of both philosophy and sex. Another example is The Lifted Curtain or Laura's Education, about a young girl's sexual initiation by her father, written by the Comte de Mirabeau; also Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in 1782.

In the late 18th century the theme of sado-masochism was explored by the Marquis de Sade in such works as Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue and 120 Days of Sodom. The Marquis de Sade's work was very influential on later erotica and he (together with the later writer Sacher-Masoch) lent his name to the sexual acts which he describes in his fiction. Directories of prostitutes and their services have also historically served as a sexual education in print, such as Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies (1757-1795). The rise of the novel in 18th century England provided a new medium for erotica. One of the most famous in this new genre was Fanny Hill by John Cleland. This book has often been adapted for the cinema in the 20th century. Anonymously published erotica included The Lustful Turk.

Victorian era

Victorian erotica

In the Victorian period, the quality of erotic fiction was much below that of the previous century — it was written by 'hacks'. Some works, however, borrowed from established literary models, such as Dickens. It also featured a curious form of social stratification. 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 were present in some examples, perhaps reflecting the influence of the English public school. These works were often anonymous, and undated, and include such titles as The Lustful Turk (1828); The Way of a Man with a Maid; A Weekend Visit, The Romance of Lust (1873); The Autobiography of a Flea (1887) and Beatrice.

Clandestine erotic periodicals of this period include The Pearl a collection of erotic tales, rhymes, songs and parodies published in London between 1879 to 1880.

In 1870 the erotic novella Venus in Furs by Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, brought the attention of the world to phenomenon of masochism, named after the author.

Towards the end of the century, a more "cultured" form of erotica began to appear by such as the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne who pursued themes of paganism, lesbianism and sado-masochism in such works as Lesbia Brandon and in contributions to The Whippingham Papers edited by St George Stock, author of The Romance of Chastisement. This was associated with the Decadent movement, in particular, with Aubrey Beardsley and the Yellow Book. But it was also to be found in France, amongst such writers as Pierre Louys, author of Les chansons de Bilitis (1894) (a celebration of lesbianism and sexual awakening). In the Victorian period, the quality of erotic fiction was much below that of the previous century — it was written by 'hacks'. However, some contained borrowings from established literary models, such as Dickens. It also featured a curious form of social stratification. Even in the throes of orgasm, the social distinctions between master and servant (including form of address) were scrupulously observed. Significant elements of sadomasochism were present in some examples, perhaps reflecting the influence of the English public school. These were works were often anonymous, and undated, and include such classics of the genre as:

Twentieth century

20th century erotica

Twentieth century erotic fiction includes such classics of the genre as: Maudie by Anon; Sadopaideia (1907) by Anon; Trois Filles de Leur Mére (1926) by Pierre Louys; Story of the Eye (1928) by Georges Bataille; Tropic of Cancer (1934) by Henry Miller; The Story of O (1954) by Pauline Réage; Lolita (1955) and Ada, or Ardor (1969) by Vladimir Nabokov; Delta of Venus (1978) by Anaïs Nin and The Bicycle Rider (1985) by Guy Davenport.

Lolita and The Story of O were published by Olympia Press, a Paris-based publisher, launched in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a rebadged version of the Obelisk Press he inherited from his father Jack Kahane. It published a mix of erotic fiction and avant-garde literary works.

From around the late 1970s, many sex manuals have been published and openly sold in the western world, notably The Joy of Sex. Sex manuals specifically written for sexual minorities are also now published.

List of publications

Works of significant literary merit that can be classed as erotic literature include:

Romantic novels are sometimes marketed as erotica—or vice versa, as "mainstream" romance in recent years has begun to exhibit blatant (if poetic) descriptions of sex.

Artists books explore relations between the literary, poetic, comic, and artistic representations of sex.

Erotic memoirs and other accounts

erotic memoirs

Erotic memoirs include those of Casanova's Histoire de ma vie from the eighteenth century, 'Walter's My Secret Life from the nineteenth, Frank Harris's My Life and Loves (1922-27) from the twentieth and One Hundred Strokes of the Brush Before Bed by Melissa P from the twenty-first. It should be remembered, however, that the 'memoir' format recurs repeatedly in erotic fiction. Ian Gibson, in The Erotomaniac, makes an excellent case for My Secret Life being written by Henry Spencer Ashbee, thus casting doubt on the veracity of the whole, highly salacious, book.

Sensational journalism such as W.T. Stead's The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon (1885) about the procuring of underage girls into the brothels of Victorian London has also 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 in Jardin des Supplices (1899) and Jean Lorrain in Monsieur de Phocas (1901).

Legal status

There is a substantial overlap between legal erotic literature and illegal pornography, with the distinction traditionally having been made in the English-speaking courts on the basis of perceived literary merit. This was particularly true of works aimed at men, which generally use explicit descriptions of sexual acts. Many banned books have been suppressed because they also contained erotic visual images, which has traditionally been easier to prosecute than text.

In the USA, the First Amendment gives protection to written fiction - although in one case, a man pled guilty and was convicted for writing unpublished stories (these were works of fiction concerning sexually abusing children) that were contained only in his personal and private journal. That conviction was later overturned on appeal.

In the UK purely textual pornographic texts, with no hint of libel, have not been prosecuted since the Inside Linda Lovelace trial collapsed in 1976.

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 has been particularly notorious for such border seizures.

In some nations, even purely textual erotic literature is still deemed illegal and is also prosecuted.

See also

Bibliography


Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Erotic literature" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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