The Pearl
William Lazenby, 1879-1880
This first entry is a slight cheat: The Pearl was not
actually a book, but a magazine published briefly in 18 volumes and two
Christmas Annuals until the publishers were threatened with prosecution for
distributing obscene literature.
The Pearl contained pornographic stories—many were
serialized and included such classics as Lady Pokingham or They All Do It and
Sub-Umbra or Sport Among the She-Noodles—plus dirty jokes, limericks, and
humorous song and poem parodies. The magazine’s primary focus was humor; the
stories were often satirical in nature, though still very explicit. You can
read The Pearl on-line.
The Romance of Lust
Anonymous, 1873-1876
This verbose, first person narrative follows the fictional
Charlie Roberts from his young sexual awakening all through his maturation and
development. The Romance of Lust chiefly noted not for the perversity of the
acts themselves, which include orgies and incest. All four volumes are
available on-line.
The Sins of the Cities of the Plain
The Lives
Also known as The Recollections of a Maryanne, The Sins of
the Cities of the Plain is a pioneering work of gay erotic fiction chronicling
the experiences of a rent-boy—a “Maryanne” (19th Century slang for a
homosexual). Some of the characters are drawn from actual people, such as the
transvestites Ernest Boulton and Frederick Park. The author’s name is certainly
a pseudonym. Intimate encounters include cross-dressing and orgies.
This book gives a fascinating glimpse into the hidden world
of upper and lower class gay Victorians. Unfortunately, it cannot be found
online.The Nunnery Tales
Anonymous, 1866
This book is also known as Cruising Under False Colors, A
Tale of Love and Lust. It features plenty of sacrilege flavored action with
bawdy nuns and salacious priests among the fictional characters. It also
includes raunchy humor, possibly exaggerated explicit intimacy, and lesbian
encounters (no surprise as the story takes place in a convent), erotic flagellation
and spankings, group encounters, incest, and a little cross-dressing.
Interestingly, it may have been adapted from a much older
17th century French work and has been reprinted often. You can read the book
on-line.
Venus in Furs
Ritter von Leopold Sacher-Masoch, 1870
This famous erotic and somewhat autobiographical work is
actually the origin of the term masochism (for those who wonder, we can thank
the Marquis de Sade for “sadism”). The protagonist, Severin, is infatuated by a
beautiful woman and offers himself as her slave. Obsessed with his total
submission to her, he urges the woman, Wanda, to humiliate and degrade him more
and more cruelly as the story goes on. The book is focused on fetish and
S&M, and remains very popular.
It’s more of a literary drama than the usual explicit
offering. You can read the book on-line. Roman Polanski adopted Venus in Furs
for the silver screen in 2012.
