Prélude Charnel – An erotic story with many angles

23rd March 2017

Sometimes researches into honest erotica throw up some fascinating chains of events, and the book first published 1934 in French as Prélude Charnel is one of the most fascinating.


The first edition of Prélude Charnel


A well-written and very credible narrative of a young couple’s (well, at… read more

The erotic works of Pierre Louÿs

23rd March 2017

(at the moment this is an abridged version of the Wikipedia entry for Pierre Louÿs; a revised text and illustrations will follow shortly)

Pierre Louÿs (1870–1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who… read more

The inspiration of King Pausole

23rd March 2017

Pierre Louÿs’ novel Les aventures du Roi Pausole (The Adventures of King Pausole), first published in 1900, might at first glance look like an eighteenth century parody in the style of Voltaire or Diderot. However, Pausole was very much a contemporary work. The king of the country of Tryphême was a… read more

I Modi – the archetypal Italian Renaissance erotic portfolio

23rd February 2017

Pietro Aretino’s Sonetti Lussuriosi (Lustful Sonnets) or I Modi (The Positions), as you will discover when you read about them below, hold a unique position in erotic literature, and in erotic illustration. For many years they were the benchmark, both actual and perceived, for the most daring,… read more