The worst heat waves should be over, so we can think about getting “hot” in a … ahem … different kind of way. Let’s explore classic adult-rated literature with 10 sexy gems from our catalog.
From the very beginnings of humanity, Phallic Worship had its fixed place in religious practices. Follow Hargrave Jennings through times, cultures and countries and see how both male and female genitalia became deified.
The Garden God is the only friend of lonely boy Graham. When he finally enters boarding school, he meets Harold, who is the statue’s spitting image. A loving friendship soon blossoms – until tragedy strikes in the novel by Forrest Reid.
“Tragic” is the perfect summary of Mathilda’s life: Her mother dies soon after her birth and her father disappears. When the girl is 16, her father re-emerges to confess his – not quite paternal – love for her… Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel was considered so scandalous that it was only published 100 years after her death.
Pierre Louÿs claimed to have rediscovered the works of a Greek poetess from Sappho’s circle. Whether this is true or not, Les Chansons de Bilitis are one of the prime examples of poetry with lesbian themes. We also have this book in a German translation.
A great variety of themes are found in The Perfumed Garden, a 15th-century Arabic sex manual. Sheikh Nafzaoui skilfully mixes aphrodisiac recipes, descriptions of sexual techniques and intercourse with erotic stories to get in the mood.
“The mood” is a fickle thing, as Severin knows, and so he demands to be treated as a slave from his lover Wanda… Venus in Furs, or rather, its author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch lends his name to a whole range of sexual preference.
Similarly immortalized is Giacomo Casanova. Chiefly known for his womanizing, the Venetian was also an adventurer and a writer – a pretty good one too, if his Memoirs are any indication.
George Bernard Shaw’s Overruled shows perfect indications of a love quadruple: Two couples meet unexpectedly at a hotel. But they are all married to the partners of the others… A serious conversation leads to an unexpected result.
The only serious thing about Nana is that she destroys every man who pursues her. No wonder, she’s a prostitute, after all. Émile Zola shows in his famous novel that the life of even a high-class courtesan is no fairy tale.
Fairy tales are already in the name here: Braune Märchen are a mix of Grimm’s fairy tales and the Decameron, with a sprinkle of erotic on top. These 20 fairy tales stem from the pen of Alexander von Ungern-Sternberg.
Enjoy – and be naughty!