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Venus in India (Harper Perennial Forbidden Classics Series)
by Charles DevereauxVenus in India purports to be the autobiography of the randy Captain Devereux, who details his sensual adventures with the wives and daughters of his fellow soldiers in colonial India. Venus in India was first published in 1889 and will surprise and excite readers with its explicit descriptions of erotic dalliances and ménages ? trois.
A Night in a Moorish Harem (Erotic Classics )
by George HerbertA Night in a Moorish Harem tells the thrilling story of a shipwrecked British sea captain who washes ashore near a Moroccan harem. He spends the night listening to each of the nine concubines' explicit stories of sexual awakening. This is a must-read erotic novella that has led to several bookseller corruption trials since its publication in 1900.
Indiana: A Love Story (Erotic Classics )
by George SandTrapped in a marriage to a domineering soldier, love-starved and submissive Indiana searches for someone to desire her deeply and passionately. While she looks for love, she is pursued relentlessly by a charming, rakish neighbour who has already seduced her maid. Written by Amandine Aurore Dupin and published under the name of George Sand, Indiana is a romantic tale of a woman's journey into passion that details what happens between good women and bad men.
Venus in Furs
by Leopold von Sacher-MasochWhat woman doesn't secretly wish for a submissive man to hand her the whip? Severin is a young nobleman who can only love the most ruthless of women—one who will make him bleed and hurt—and so offers himself to the wealthy and beautiful Wanda to pursue his darkest dreams. Although he at first revels in the submission, he soon realizes that Wanda may be too good at dominating him . . . But he is now powerless to escape. Published in 1870, the classic erotic story Venus in Furs defined for the first time what we now call sadomasochism.
My Secret Life: Vol. 1-3 (Wordsworth Classic Erotica Ser.)
by WalterSuppressed regularly since its publication, My Secret Life details the erotic experiences of the narrator "Walter," a Victorian gentleman of wealth and status. Painstakingly detailed, the novel describes his incredible womanizing over several years, which includes his exploits with partners of his own stature as well as prostitutes and those of the lower class.
Nana (Coll. Diamant)
by Émile ZolaNana is the story of Nana Coupeau's rise from street prostitute to high-class escort. Emile Zola's classic novel depicts a woman who starts off with nothing but uses her body and sensual skills to rise from the gutter to the top of society, destroying every man who wants her along the way.
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen<P>Elizabeth Bennet, one of Austen's most enduring heroines, has four sisters, a mother desperate to find them all good marriages, and not much family wealth. <P>When Elizabeth meets the handsome and rich Mr. Darcy, it is not love at first sight. <P>But there's more to Darcy than just pride as Elizabeth grows to realize. <P>A charming and timeless romance and comedy of manners and morality, Pride and Prejudice is eminently rereadable.
Lady Susan
by Jane AustenPublished in 1871, (long after Jane Austen's death in 1817) and written in 1794, Lady Susan is told through letters, and is the story of a woman's quest to find husbands for herself and her daughter, all while maintaining a relationship with a married man. The heroine is quite different than those from novels of the time, and is treated quite mildly for her adultery (which differs from the majority of Austen's heroines). Lady Susan is also a dynamic character—attractive, witty and quite intelligent (if manipulative at times). As with most of Austen's other work Lady Susan has been adapted for stage and screen on multiple occasions.
Northanger Abbey
by Jane AustenNotable as the first of Austen's work to be completed (although she had started Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice before) Northanger Abbey was not actually published until after her death. Most easily described as a coming of age story, it is also a lovely romance. Seventeen year old Catherine Morland is invited to go to Bath to visit family friends. Inquisitive and imaginative, Catherine is a huge reader of Gothic novels and is thrilled to be visiting Northanger Abbey, a place she expects to be full of the romance and mystery she has read about. When she meets the Tilney and Thorpe families, Catherine is thrust into a love triangle as Henry Tilney and John Thorpe vie for her affections.
Persuasion
by Jane AustenThe last novel written before Jane Austen's death in 1817, Persuasion is a story of second chances. When Anne Elliot was nineteen she rejected the marriage proposal of naval officer Frederick Wentworth. Although handsome and charming, he was poor with no family connections, something that Anne's family heartily disapproved of. Eight years later, Frederick is a rich and decorated Captain, and Anne is unmarried. Despite Frederick's hurt and anger from being turned down years before, it is clear that something still exists between them. Despite the intrusion of families (a common Austen theme) and society, it's possible that they can find the love that once existed between them.
Mansfield Park
by Jane AustenThe heroine of Mansfield Park is Fanny Price. She's been raised by her wealthy aunt and uncle, but has no money and no real marital prospects herself. When family friends, the lively and appealing siblings Henry and Mary Crawford, come to stay, Mansfield Park is transformed into a different place. Henry takes an interest in Fanny, and so begins a series of romantic entanglements between Fanny, her cousins, and the Crawfords. It has been argued that this is the most controversial of Austen's novels, and Fanny is a much discussed character.
Sense and Sensibility
by Jane AustenSense and Sensibility is the beloved story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. When their father dies, the sisters' home is inherited by their older brother (their father's son from an earlier marriage). Adrift in a world where they'd once been so comfortable, the sisters move, along with their mother and younger sister into a home near relatives. They meet kind and wealthy Colonel Brandon (whose property they are now renting) and Marianne becomes enthralled with the dashing Willoughby. Romances bloom and die and bloom again, and all the while the sisters stay true to their natures—wise and practical Elinor and romantic and impulsive Marianne.
Agnes Grey
by Anne BrontëAgnes Grey is the story of a young woman who is forced by poverty to work as a governess for wealthy families while attempting to find love and happiness of her own. Set in early Victorian England, and based on Anne Bronte's own experiences, the novel explores Agnes's struggles with her cruel, uncaring employers, and a society that does not value a woman of her low position. Though less well known than the novels of her sisters, Emily and Charlotte, Anne's first book has been praised by critics for its wit and "near perfect prose."
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte BrontëA masterpiece of nineteenth-century English Literature, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre follows the titular character as she attempts to rise from humble beginnings to find independence and love. Jane is a passionate and intelligent woman who struggles in life until she secures the job as governess for the wealthy, kind Edward Rochester. At Thornfield Hall, Rochester's estate, Jane finds herself falling for her employer, and though the feelings are reciprocated, Rochester also has a terrible secret that threatens their future together. Jane Eyre is not only a classic romance, but has been praised for its penetrating depiction of Jane's inner moral and intellectual struggles, and is still read widely to this day.
The Professor
by Charlotte BrontëPublished after Charlotte Bronte's death in 1855, The Professor is unique in that it was the first book Bronte wrote, and the only one narrated by a male character, the scholarly William Crimsworth. William, orphaned at a young age, rejects the life of a clergyman his uncles choose for him and sets out on his own, eventually becoming a teacher at an all-girls school in Belgium. Once established there, he finds himself falling for a talented student, Frances, but their budding romance is threatened by petty jealousies. The final novel published by any of the famous Bronte sisters, The Professor was based partly on Charlotte's own experiences teaching in Belgium.
Villette
by Charlotte BrontëLoosely based on her own experiences, Charlotte Bronte's Villette is the story of a destitute, young Englishwoman who travels abroad to escape a family tragedy and find her way in the world. The novel follows Lucy Snowe as she moves to the city of Villette, in the fictional kingdom of Labassecour, to take up a job teacher at school for girls. The bright but secretive Lucy soon thrives in her new position and is soon reconnected with an old friend, Dr. John Graham Bretton, whom she finds herself falling in love with, though he has eyes for someone else. Charlotte Bronte's last novel, a gripping tale of love and disappointment that has been praised for its portrayal of Lucy's inner struggles, is considered alongside Jane Eyre as her best work.
Wuthering Heights
by Emily BrontëThe first and only novel written by Emily Bronte during her short career, Wuthering Heights is a tale of a passionate but jealous love affair between the mysterious Heathcliff and free-spirited Catherine Earnshaw. Far from a traditional romance, the novel does not shy away from portraying the destructiveness and resentment that can arise from love. Because of its stark portrayal of Heathcliff and Catherine's relationship and the cruelty and suffering that stems from it, Wuthering Heights was highly controversial when published originally in 1847. Now it is considered, alongside Charlotte's Jane Eyre, as the most enduring of all the Bronte Sisters works.
Cecilia or Memoirs of an Heiress
by Frances BurneyCecilia Beverely is a young woman who is set to inherit a fabulous fortune but there is a stipulation: she only receives the money if she marries a man who agrees to take her surname. While waiting to come of age and collect her inheritance, Cecilia is put under the care of three guardians with their own agendas and encounters a series of suitors only interested in her money. A scathing satire of upper-class society in 18th century England, Cecilia is a funny, thoughtful book celebrated in its time and continuously read ever since even inspiring the works of Austen and Thackeray.
Madame Bovary
by Gustave FlaubertMadame Bovary is the debut novel of French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. When first published, public prosecutors attacked the novel for obscenity. The resulting trial in January 1857 made the story notorious. After Flaubert's acquittal, Madame Bovary became a bestseller. A seminal work of literary realism, the novel is now considered Flaubert's masterpiece, and one of the most influential literary works in history. The British critic James Wood writes: "Flaubert established, for good or ill, what most readers think of as modern realist narration, and his influence is almost too familiar to be visible."
Far from the Madding Crowd
by Thomas HardyFar from the Madding Crowd (1874) is Thomas Hardy's fourth novel and his first major literary success. The novel is the first to be set in Hardy's fictional region of Wessex in rural south west England. It deals in themes of love, honour and betrayal, against a backdrop of the seemingly idyllic, but often harsh, realities of a farming community in Victorian England. It describes the farmer Bathsheba Everdene, her life and relationships – especially with her lonely neighbour William Boldwood, the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak, and the thriftless soldier Sergeant Troy.
Anna Karenina
by Leo TolstoyAnna Karenina chronicles the doomed love affair between Anna and the dashing Count Vronsky. Married to a much older man, tragedy unfolds when Anna risks all in pursuit a more passionate and fulfilling life. Often described as one of the greatest novels ever written, Anna Karenina explores a diverse range of topics throughout its approximately one thousand pages. Some of these topics include an evaluation of the feudal system that existed in Russia at the time—politics, not only in the Russian government but also at the level of the individual characters and families, religion, morality, gender and social class.
The Lustful Turk (Erotic Classics )
by AnonymousTold through letters sent by a young and beautiful English woman, The Lustful Turk details her absolute surrender to the insatiable sexual appetite of Ali, Dey of the Turks. Published in 1828, this story of a girl abducted by pirates and delivered to a harem shocked the world on publication with its frank eroticism and explicit descriptions of the most private of acts in the most veiled of places.
The Romance of Lust: A Classic Victorian Erotic Novel
by AnonymousFirst published in 1873, The Romance of Lust is the story of Charlie, an incredibly well-endowed man with insatiable appetites, who openly describes his sexual life, including his relationships with his sisters, his governesses, and his male and female friends. A highly controversial book that was not published in the US for nearly 100 years after its first appearance, The Romance of Lust confronts many taboos and fetishes.
The Memoirs of Fanny Hill: Memoirs Of A Woman Of Pleasure (Isis Large Print Ser.)
by John ClelandIn a series of letters to an unknown woman, Fanny defends her life—in particular her career as a prostitute. With its extraordinary and explicit descriptions of sex Fanny Hill scandalized the world upon its release and resulted in author John Cleland's arrest for obscenity. Fanny Hill was not formally published until the mid-20th century, and continues to be revered as an erotic classic.
A Night in a Moorish Harem (Erotic Classics )
by George HerbertA Night in a Moorish Harem tells the thrilling story of a shipwrecked British sea captain who washes ashore near a Moroccan harem. He spends the night listening to each of the nine concubines' explicit stories of sexual awakening. This is a must-read erotic novella that has led to several bookseller corruption trials since its publication in 1900.