Heady sighs and grumbles are what the novel series 50 Shades of Grey evoked in its readers and the general public, a mediocre work that left purists baffled as to why people from all ages read it. It is no secret that this saga was heavily influenced by another collection, Twilight. Suddenly, the spotlight was on the erotic genre, a genre that was tucked away and only taken out at night for the intimate pleasure of the reader. We might not wish to admit this, but these novels, no matter how badly constructed, revived a genre within the general public that had once been deemed as unnecessary and absurd.
Norwegian writer and journalist, Mariella Fostrup affirms that there are indeed terrible erotic novels out there, but there are equally beautiful ones that are captivating and seductive. She stresses the importance of sex in our lives and how it is closely tied to our emotions. It is time we left behind porn and inched closer to great, erotic novels.
Anonymous– From Eveline
Rudyard Kipling– First Dawn
Kate Chopin – A Respectable Woman
Anonymous – A Night in a Moorish Harem
Bram Stoker–Dracula
John Gibb – Blind Love
John Fowles –The Magus
Angela Carter–The Bloody Chamber
Patricia Highsmith – Carol
Angela Carter–The Company of Wolves
A stunning story that mixes together all the elements of a gothic horror story with the fairytales we all know and love. Late at night, in the darkness of the woods, we hear the howling of wolves. Death and sex are never far apart and we see another side to Red Riding Hood: she is a woman in control of the situation, who is more than willing to be seduced and lured by the wolf. The sexual overtones and the frequent erotic references to the body make this an interesting and titillating story.
Alice Munro – Bardon Bus
Luke Jennings – Serena
Henri Breton – The Disappearing Island
Justine Dubois –Torn Lace
Rebecca Chance – Gluttony
Roger Moineau –Coming Swimmingly
Alessandra Rivalta – The Perfect Italian Wife
Harriet Warner – A Bed for the Night
Diana Gabaldon – Revelations of the Bridal Chamber
D.H Lawrence – Lady Chatterley’s Lover
A novel that was banned for many years and called pornography but is now considered a masterpiece. It is an honest portrayal of an extramarital affair, and we cannot help but curl further into the cushions as we read the explicit sexual explorations of the central characters.
“A woman has to live her life, or live to repent not having lived it.”
John Gibb – Green
Francis Dean – The Elegant Duchess
Adnan Mahmutovic – Fatima
Edward Field – Forbidden Arias
Primula Bond – The Silver Chain
Emma Donoghue – The Tale of the Rose
Jodi Ellen Malpas – This Man
Ali May – When it Gets Hot in Tehran
John Gibb – Four in Hand
Paullina Simons – The Bronze Horseman
Its profound eroticism catapulted this novel to become a bestseller. During the summer of 1941, the Metanov family and Tatiana must contend with the horrors of war and life in Leningrad. As the German army encloses the city, the future looks bleak. Yet, not all is lost; love arrives in the form of Alexander, a soldier whose passion only equals the deadly secrets he holds close to his chest. Deadly and passionate and like all erotic novels, heady as well.
Nnenna Marcia – House Keeping
Nina Gibb – On the Beach
Ruby McNally – The Midwesterners
Anna Maconochie – What Have I to Do With You?
Veronica Cancio de Grandy – Pears and Silk
Laurence Klavan – The Witness
Kate Percival – The Life and Amours of Beautiful, Gay and Dashing Kate Percival, the Belle of the Delaware
James Joyce – Ulysses
John Cleland – Fanny Hill
Hearts have fluttered and cheeks have been flushed and pink since the novel Fanny Hill first appeared in London in 1748. “Obscene” is what they called this fictional account of a woman and her journey to middle-class respectability. We delve into the boudoirs of courtesans and the brothels of Augustan England.
Anne Rice – The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
Roberta Latow – Three Rivers
Alan Hollinghurst – The Swimming-Pool Library
Anaïs Nin – A Model
Luke Jennings – Small Talk
Elizabeth Speller – Thought Waves
Louise Welsh – The Worm on the Bud
Louise Black – Grammar Lessons
Justine Dubois – Dorchester Evening
Roald Dahl – The Great Switcheroo
Dahl is well loved and remembered for his children stories. In 1974 he published this story in the Playboy magazine. The story focuses on a couple who go to a party, and in a flash we notice that they want to change companions just for a night. Dahl’s naughty story breaks away from the genres and narratives he usually employed. The narrative flows in its simplicity and its sensuality is unmistakable.
Nikki Gemmell – The Bride Stripped Bare
Helen Cross – Pull
Andrew Crumey – Vox Vulva
Michel Faber – Bed & Breakfast
Nikki Gemmell – Nevertire
Louise Welsh – Belle and Sylvie
Katie Kelly – Summer
Alex Chambers – The Selfish Giantess
Garry Stewart – Off the Road
Henry Miller – Quiet Days in Clichy
A story of love and art that celebrates the Bohemian life. There was once a time when the world was simpler and slower, and in this story we follow a young, penniless writer in Paris and his escapades in the city of love and unrestrained passion.
Nnenna Marcia – Mrs Salad Woman
Malachi O’Doherty – Love Me, Love My Wife
LaShonda Katrice Burnett– The Art Of Losing
Kass Goldsworthy – Commute
Kass Goldsworthy – This Is What It’s Like
Charlotte Stein – Intrusion
Neville Elder – The Red House
Arlene Heyman – The Loves of Her Life
Guillaume Apollinaire – Memoirs of a Young Rakehill
Marquis de Sade – Justine
Justine came to light in 1791 and consolidated the Marquis de Sade as the master of erotica. There is a whiff of controversy that continues to surround this novel, since it breaks all preconceived notions about sex, and it unflinchingly tests the limits of the reader.
Pauline Réage – Story of O
Sebastion Gray – The Slit
Alina Reyes – Behind Closed Doors
Michel Houellebecq – Atomised
Henri Breton – The Devil’s Whisper
Michel Faber – The Perfect W
Lucy Golden – Hannah’s Tale-Flat
Geoff Nicholson – Glove Story
Christine Poutney – Mean Streak
Georges Bataille – The Antique Wardrobe
Georges Bataille was a prominent philosophy figure during the twentieth century in France. He explored areas like literature, anthropology, economics, sociology, art, history, and philosophy. His fascination with human behavior led him to explore eroticism and analyze how people are transformed and influenced by such a gripping emotion.
David Henry Sterry– The Snow Leopard
Mitizi Szereto –Moonburn
Harriet Warner – Burning Desire
Anne Billson – Dead Girls
Angelica Jacob – This Year at Marienbad
Geoff Nicholson – California Streamin’
D.B.C Pierre – Lust
Helen Walsh – You’ve Been Framed
Christine Poutney – The Cat That Got the Cream
Poutney is a contemporary Canadian writer whose texts have been lauded by noted media like The Guardian and New York Times magazine. Her work is not entirely focused on eroticism, but we tip our hats to The Cat that Got the Cream, a clear example of her talent and the natural way in which she plunges into the depths of human sexuality.
Lucy Golden – Finny’s Tale- The Creature in the Garden
Katie Kelly – Let’s Put This to Bed
A.F. Harrold – The Boys
Nicholson Baker – Shandee Finds Dave’s Arm
Fulani – The Phenomenology of the Whip (Porn Mix)
Danielle Schloss– Park Antics
Ortensia Visconti – Tokyo
Tiffany Reisz – The Saint
Jo Mazelis – Rose Madder and the Silken Robe
Christopher Peachment – The Man Also Rises
Helen Walsh – Men and Motors
In Fostrup’s eyes, young people have a mistaken approach to sexuality. The availability of porn means people have access to all kinds of sexual acts devoid of a context or meaning. Porn invites you to passively look and accept what is being done, but when you read an erotic text, it awakens different emotions and sensations that allow you to better understand your own desires and passions.
Fostrup compiled the best erotic novels that promise to be a titillating read. In her book, Desire, she wants readers to understand the complexity of sex and the importance imagination has in sparking desire.
Source:
The Guardian
Photographs:
Julian Hibbard
