The present work fills a gap as it attempts to offer a history of erotic literature published in the United Kingdom. The word Study in the title is perhaps a bit exaggerated as the material is largely taken from the now well known bibliographies by Pisanus Fraxi (Henry Spencer Ashbee) and quotations from the books themselves. The time line is WW II. Who was the author? He may have been Charles Reginald Dawes (1879-1964) who is supposed to have written (but not published) a text of this or a similar title. His profession or his activities are not known - he once called himself a writer but library catalogues credit him only with two publications: The Marquis de Sade (Paris 1927) and Retif de la Bretonne (London 1946, privately printed). He may have been a popular writer under pseudonyms, though. Dawes owned a good erotica collection which he willed to the British Museum Library; that would explain why the author of this Study - if he was Dawes - could quote freely from erotic texts which only few of his contemporaries would have had available. The main merits of this book are that the author was thoroughly familiar with English (and French) erotic literature and that he put his material in chronological order and in context. The editor added a number of references, illustrations and indices of personal names and titles to facilitate navigation.

This Companion offers an introduction to key topics in the study of erotic literature from antiquity to the present.

This work offers bibliographical descriptions of all printings of erotic fiction in English issued clandestinely during the period 1800-1930. By 'clandestine' is meant books whose publishers and printers attempt to hide their identities, usually by offering title pages whose misleading places and dates of publication may shock and amuse, but which always aim to mystify. Using internal and external evidence, an attempt is made to establish who were the printers, booksellers and publishers, English and Continental, involved in this trade. The printing families or 'groups' into which a large percentage of the material falls are classified, accompanied by illustrations which identify the main printing characteristics ('house styles') of the groups. Bibliographical descriptions follow a checklist of clandestine catalogues; these provide valuable evidence for dating, pricing and 'sales pitch' and information on items of which no copies can now be traced. The work concludes with a series of appendices which provide significant external evidence, and three indexes: of themes, titles and names. Peter Mendes' original research builds on and significantly extends the essential pioneer work of the Victorian collector and bibliographer H.S. Ashbee ('Pisanus Fraxi').

Before Pornography explores the relationship between erotic writing, masculinity, and national identity in Renaissance England. Drawing on both manuscripts and printed texts, and incorporating insights from modern feminist theory and queer studies, the book argues that pornography is a historical phenomenon: while the representation of sexual activity exists in nearly all cultures, pornography does not. The book includes analyses of the social significance of eroticism in such canonical texts as Sidney's Defense of Poesy and Spenser's Faerie Queene.

Transgressive by nature, erotic literature engages the reader in a dialogue informed by the social and aesthetic conventions that it playfully disregards or happily reproduces. But once this intimate, arousing and, often, disturbing dialogue transitions into another language, culture or medium, it must reposition itself within new conventions. How does this happen in practice? Examining erotic literature from multiple angles, this volume starts off with an ethical evaluation of the most recent rendering of Marquis de Sade into English. Other inquiries into European letters include the works of Goethe, Georges Bataille, Pierre Guyotat and E. L. James, and the films of Michael Haneke and Patrice Chéreau. Studies of Chinese and Japanese erotic traditions complement the picture by addressing the different functions of the erotic in discrete cultural settings. Johannes D. Kaminski is Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow at University of Vienna.

The Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature is a two-volume work that contains some 540 entries on erotic literature on an international scale. The Encyclopedia has an unprecedented scope, the first scholarly reference resource to bring the field together in all its fascinating variety. The entries examine the history of the literature in different countries and languages from classical antiquity to the present day, individual writers from around the world (not all of them necessarily known as specialist writers of erotic literature), significant works, genres and critical approaches, and general themes pertinent to erotic literature (nudity, prostitution, etc.). The definition of erotic literature is broad, encompassing all the material recognized in the study of the field: not just fiction in all genres (novels, poetry, short stories, drama), but also essays, autobiographies, treatises and sex manuals from different cultures. This Encyclopedia deals with sexually explicit texts characterized by sexual representations and suggestions. All types of sexuality are included. For more information about the title and the editors, go to: http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/news/latest-news/erotic-encyclopedia-edited-by-london-met-professor.cfm/

Mighty Lewd Books describes the emergence of a new home-grown English pornography. Through the examination of over 500 pieces of British erotica, this book looks at sex as seen in erotic culture, religion and medicine throughout the long eighteenth-century, and provides a radical new approach to the study of sexuality.