Throughout the years, writers have found unimaginable sources of inspiration, being one of the most prolific ones to love. But not only the romantic one, but the steamiest and kinkiest one.
Esmé Louise James, an Australian writer, and tiktoker that explores the kinky side of history enlisted the steamiest books in history. All of these titles explore sexuality, desire, and pleasure in a very particular way that lets us understand ancient societies and how they thought about fluidity, pleasure, and relationships.
Memoirs of a woman of pleasure by John Cleland
Better known as Fanny Hill, this novel by John Cleland and published in 1748 is considered the first original English prose adult content.
Because of its stories about a group of women that work at a brothel and all the encounters they have, as well as its explicit illustrations, it was once the most prosecuted and banned book in history.
Even its author and publisher, Ralph Griffiths, were arrested and charged with “corrupting the King’s subjects” one year later after its publication.
All the work of le Marquis De Sade
This French writer and philosopher was a true believer in total freedom and that included intimate acts. Not for nothing, the term sadism derives from his works that combine philosophical discourses and sexual fantasies that, most of the time, go too far regarding suffering and pain.
His most popular works are Justine or the Misfortunes of Virtue, Juliette, The 120 days of Sodom, and Philosophy in the Bedroom. This book challenged traditional perceptions of sexuality, religion, law, age, and gender.
Venus in Furs by Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch
This novel by the Austrian writer and published in 1870 is believed to be the first work of literature that refers to masochism, a word derived from the author’s name that was coined y psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing and which Sacher-Masoch didn’t approve.
Venus in Furs is about a man who, decided to let go of his obsession with a woman, pleads her to submit to her. As their story develops, she starts to treat him in a more degrading way by his request until she finds another man to submit.
Monsieur Venus – Rachilde
This novel by French decadent writer Rachilde and published in 1884 tells the story of an aristocrat woman who tries to find a more satisfying identity while looking for pleasure.
It is believed to be one of the first literary works to break and criticize gender roles, social class, and sexual morality.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Probably one of the most popular works of literature regarding kinky history. This book published in 1932 tells the story of Lady Chatterley who has an affair with a gamekeeper after her husband is paralyzed from the waist down due to a war injury.
The novel was banned for obscenity in many countries like the United States and Canada and in the UK, it won a trial that tried to ban it because of its explicit descriptions and its use “of the unprintable word” fuck.
