Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (Fanny Hill)

Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, by John Cleland, better known as Fanny Hill, was published in two parts, in 1748 and 1749, respectively. And it hasn't been out of controversy since.

Now this is a book deserving of controversy. But not for the reasons that its detractors cry of.

I'm not denying that this is some steamy stuff. It contains many explicitly detailed tales of sexual intercourse. But not anything worse than you'd find in your average romance novel.

The real controversy contained in this book is far more insidious. Fanny, our protagonist, is a prostitute. A well-paid prostitute that only has sex with men she finds acceptable. But the really shocking item? The one that gets a lot of people riled up without them even realizing it? She enjoys it. Gasp! Fanny enjoys having sex. She even seeks it out for her own gratification. Burn her at the stake posthaste.

I don't particularly care for the other controversial aspect of this book; the era's misconception that women, once tempted, cannot stop themselves from corrupting otherwise pious, G-d fearing men. The idea that women are morally weaker than men was a position held by the Church for centuries by that time. That's why it's in the book. Condemning the book on that aspect is a waste of time; like being angry at Parisians for speaking French.

Yes, Fanny Hill does contain some fairly graphic scenes detailing Sado-Masochism, lesbian and gay sex, prostitution, and more gleefully enjoyed (by the characters) coitus than you can shake the Washington monument at; but you've got to read a lot of Chaucer, Bronte, and Dickens before it makes sense. The dirtiest word in the whole book is "erection" and no one's telling the Amish they can't write books about barn-raising.