Despite cultural taboos on such material, before the invention of printing circulation of erotic literature was not seen as a major problem, as the costs of producing individual manuscripts limited distribution to a very small group of readers. The invention of printing, in the 15th century, brought with it both a greater market and increasing restrictions, which took the form of censorship and legal restraints on publication on grounds of obscenity. In the Renaissance period many poems were not written for publication and merely circulated in manuscript among a relatively limited readership. Such were the Sonnets of William Shakespeare who also wrote the erotic poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. Though many of the poems attributed to Rochester were actually by other authors, his reputation as a libertine was such that his name was used as a selling point by publishers of collections of erotic verse for centuries after. One poem which definitely was by him was "A Ramble in St. James's Park" 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 a general change in attitudes to sexuality, it was recently dramatised as a scene in the film The Libertine about his life. Farmer; the three volume Poetica Erotica (1921) and its more obscene supplement the Immortalia (1927) both edited by T. 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. 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. Lawrence could be regarded as a writer of love poems, his usually deal in the less romantic aspects of love such as sexual frustration or the sex act itself. Ezra Pound in his Literary Essays complained of Lawrence's interest in his own "disagreeable sensations" but praised him for his "low-life narrative. 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 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's banning of his "The Pleasures of the Flesh" (1966) from their shops. Such works have frequently been banned by the government or religious authorities. It should be noted, however, that apparently non-fictional works dealing with 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 often very diffuse. 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. The Tale of Two Lovers (Latin: Historia de duobus amantibus) written in 1444 was one of the bestselling books of the fifteenth century, even before its author, Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, became Pope Pius II. It is one of the earliest examples of an epistolary novel, full of erotic imagery. The first printed edition was published by Ulrich Zel in Cologne between 1467 and 1470. This manuscript claimed that it was originally written in Spanish by Luisa Sigea de Velasco, an erudite poetess and maid of honor at the court of Lisbon and was then translated into Latin by Jean or Johannes Meursius. The attribution to Sigea was a lie and Meursius was a complete fabrication; the true author was Nicolas Chorier. These were a somewhat peculiar English genre of erotic fiction in which the female body (and sometimes the male) was described in terms of a landscape. 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's A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy (1768) entitled La Souriciere. One of the most famous in this new genre was Fanny Hill (1748) by John Cleland. This book set a new standard in literary smut and was often adapted for the cinema in the 20th century. The climax of this trend is represented in French philosopher Diderot's Les Bijoux indiscrets (1747) in which a magic ring is employed to get women's vaginas to give an account of their intimate sexual histories. De Sade (as did the later writer Sacher-Masoch) lent his name to the sexual acts which he describes in his work. 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, where flagellation was routinely used as a punishment. It first appeared in 1982 and was written by one Gordon Grimley, a sometime managing director of Penthouse International. An important publisher of erotic material in the early 19th century was George Cannon (1789–1854), followed in mid-century by William Dugdale (1800–1868) and John Camden Hotten (1832–1873). 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. 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). Because of this legal harassment the latter conducted his business from Paris. It published a mix of erotic fiction and avant-garde literary works. 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", published and distributed privately in 1932. Another notable work is The Carnal Prayer Mat by Li Yu (1657). There is also a tradition of erotic fiction in Japan. Fan fiction (see below) and its Japanese counterpart, doujinshi, account for an enormous proportion of all erotica being written today; doujinshi mostly hand-published, fanfic mostly online. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. 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 of fantasy fiction and utilizes erotica in a fantasy setting. These stories can essentially cover any of the other subgenres of fantasy, such as high fantasy, contemporary fantasy, or even historical fantasy. Much erotic fanfic is based on science fiction, fantasy, or "mainstream" television series (e. Star Trek, Beauty and the Beast, Highlander, Criminal Minds) and movies (e. Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings), using existing characters such as Galadriel or Éowyn, Harry James Potter or Draco Malfoy, in relationships either hinted at or wholly undreamed of by their creators, in genres like slash (homoerotic fic), elf porn, etc. Many recent works of erotic fan fiction use characters from the settings made popular by Dungeons & Dragons such as Dragonlance, and to a lesser extent Forgotten Realms. Fan fiction and its Japanese counterpart, doujinshi, account for an enormous proportion of all erotica being written today; doujinshi mostly hand-published, fanfic mostly online. Whereas once access to online erotic fiction was largely restricted to membership or pay sites, in recent years a marked increase in the number of community based, not-for-profit or free access websites, such as Literotica, has led to an explosion in the level of popularity of this genre. Among transgendered or genderqueer authors, it is a common practice to adopt a feminine or masculine alter-ego, although it is not unheard of for a writer to use his or her own given name. It has been common for websites to start and then vanish (or lack updates and maintenance). Some writers have their own blogs or websites given over entirely to their own work, some writers concentrate on their own sexual exploits while others explore a wide range of topics such as Katie's Writings and others use just one genre. The very term "pornography" is derived from the Greek pornographos meaning "the writing of prostitutes", originally denoting descriptions of the lives and manners of prostitutes and their customers in Ancient Greece. According to Athenaeus in The Deipnosophists these constituted a considerable genre, with many lubricious treatises, stories and dramas on the subject. Stead'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. 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). Notable English works of this genre from the 19th century include The Ups and Downs of Life (1867) by Edward Sellon 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). Ian Gibson, in The Erotomaniac speculates that My Secret Life was really written by Henry Spencer Ashbee and therefore it is possible that "Walter" is a fiction. 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 very implausible. These include the authoress indulging in lesbian sadomasochism, group sex, sodomy, bestiality, scatology, necrophilia, prostitution and vampirism: all before she had reached the age of 27. They include from the classical world, the lost works of Elephantis and Ovid's Ars Amatoria The Indian Kama Sutra is one of the world's best known works of this type. The Ananga Ranga, a 12th-century collection of Indian erotic works, is a lesser known one. Also very famous, and often reprinted and translated, is The Perfumed Garden for the Soul's Recreation, a 16th century Arabic work by Sheikh Nefzaoui. 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' 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. 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. For instance, no proceedings were taken against the publishers of Cleland's notorious Fanny Hill (1763). 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. The bill was controversial at the time, receiving strong opposition from both Houses of Parliament, and was passed on the assurance by the Lord Chief Justice that it was ". 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. In 1868 Sir Alexander Cockburn, Campbell's successor as Lord Chief Justice, held in an appeal that the test of obscenity was ". Known as the Hicklin test 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 and D. Lawrence plus medical textbooks by such as Havelock Ellis rather than the blatant erotica which was the original target of this law. Twenty-four states passed similar prohibitions on materials distributed within the states. In the United Kingdom the Obscene Publications Act 1959 provided for the protection of "literature" but conversely increased the penalties against pure "pornography. 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, have not been brought to trial since the Inside Linda Lovelace trial collapsed in 1976. However, in October 2008, a man was charged under the Obscene Publications Act for posting fictional written material to the Internet allegedly describing the kidnap, rape and murder of the pop group Girls Aloud. 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. London: Constable ISBN 0094635005^ Derek Parker, ed. Scheiner (1996) The Essential Guide to Erotic Literature, Part Two: After 1920. In Anctil, Pierre; Loiselle, Andre; Rolfe, Christopher. In Anctil, Pierre; Loiselle, Andre; Rolfe, Christopher. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0521782791, p. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 0199209146, p. Blanshard, Sex: Vice and Love from Antiquity to Modernity, Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 2010, ISBN 1405122919, p. Parragon: 53-7^ Patrick J Kearney (1982) A History of Erotic Literature. Parragon: 60-5^ Mark Steel (2003) Vive la Révolution. Evans studies in the philosophy and criticism of literature; vol. Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson. Moran, "Emma Goldman: Making speech free, 1902-1909" (Volume 2 of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History of the American Years, Jessica M. Moran) Emma Goldman Series, University of California Press, 2004, ISBN 0-520-22569-4, p. Sigel, "International exposure: perspectives on modern European pornography, 1800-2000", Rutgers University Press, 2005, ISBN 0813535190, p. Slade, "Pornography and sexual representation: a reference guide", Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, ISBN 0313315191, p. Hoffmann (1973)Analytical Survey of Anglo-American Traditional Erotica, Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press ISBN 0879720557'; p. Davis (1989) "The Actress in Victorian Pornography", in: Theatre Journal; Vol. Annual meeting on "Victorian scandals: decorum and its enemies": Extended papers. Manchester: Manchester University PressISBN 0719075009; p. Manchester: Manchester University Press ISBN 071907410X; pp. Scheiner (1996) The Essential Guide to Erotic Literature, Part One: Before 1920. Slade, Pornography and Sexual Representation: a reference guide, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, ISBN 0313315213, p. Montgomery Hyde (1964) A History of Pornography: 113-5^ Clifford J. Scheiner (1996) The Essential Guide to Erotic Literature, Part One: Before 1920. Ware: Wordsworth: 91-113^ Armand Coppens (1973) The Memoirs of an Erotic Bookseller. New York: RoutledgeGibson, Ian (2001) The Erotomaniac London: Faber & FaberH. New York: Ballantine BooksKronhausen, Phyllis & Eberhard (1969) Erotic Fantasies, a Study of Sexual Imagination. New York: Grove PressMuchembled, Robert (2008) Orgasm and the West: a history of pleasure from the 16th century to the present, Polity, ISBN 0745638767Sontag, Susan (1969). The Pornographic Imagination in Styles of Radical Will. Berkeley: University of California Press[edit] Further readingKearney, Patrick J. New York: Routledge"Erotische Literatur" in: Harenbergs Lexikon der Weltliteratur, Band 2, 1989, ISBN 3-611-00091-4"Erotische Literatur" in: Metzler Literatur Lexikon, 2. The Erotica Bibliophile A Bibliography of Works Published by Charles Carrington[edit] History[edit] GeneralAtkins, John (1970) Sex in Literature, 4 vols. Paris: Mercure de FranceSchreiber, Hermann (1969) Erotische Texte: sexualpathologische Erscheinungen in der Literatur[edit] Ancient world and Middle AgesLeick, G.
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