Customer Reviews

The Collector's Edition of Victorian Erotica

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This whopping 600 page anthology of some of the best of Victorian erotica is an absolute treasure for the unititiated reader, and also to the avid connoisseur, who is always in search of a new book of the tasty delights of erotica....


The 34 stories in this volume contain excerpts from some of the best known and read Victorian erotica books that have been printed and reprinted since the early 19th century. The best known and devoured novels of course are; Venus School Mistress, Man with a Maid, A Weekend Visit, The Romance of Lust, Parsian Frolics, Two Flappers in Paris, School Life in Paris, and, My Secret Life. Actually, I certainly was quite pleasantly surprised to find that of this wonderfull collection I had read only eight of the thirty four .......


Since the joy of erotica is not only in the incredible variety but also in the mind of the reader you will of course find excerpts that are not to be to your particular taste, but, the great thing is that you will also find some of the stories are absolutely yummie and send you on a quest to find the full book at any cost .... Appart from the timeless classical gems listed above this book has at least ten excerpts that would warrant their own five star reviews and are each, in my mind, worth the price of this book alone.


'The Prodigal Virgin', is a story of an afternoon on a secluded beach where a young Marion is slowly and gently seduced by her new brother-in-law, Stanley. The unknown author of this book is an absolute master and paints a veritable fresco in the readers mind ....

'Norah' is a story within a story of a young girl in a convent being induced into sins of the flesh by the chaplain and the mother superior. These stories are of course part of the Victorian classic fare where young, innocent and helpless young people are forced to accept and embrace their more carnal desires ....

In 'Fobidden Fruit' a very short three page excerpt details the introduction of a young Percy in the gentle arms of his step-mother, a topic considered quite tittilating in Victorian days ...


In 'Amy Denmead's History', and in several other stories in this book we see a young Amy learning the secrets of her body with the anxious assitance of Florence, one of her very close and 'special' friends ...


I can't really review all the great pieces that I liked in this book but suffice it to say I enjoyed it and have already placed orders for some of the full volumes that have been excerted here .....

To call this a collection of Victorian erotica is inaccurate as this implies that all the stories are from that era. I felt rather cheated to realise that a few were obviously twentieth century additions. It might have been more accurate to have titled this a Collection of 18th -20th Century Erotica

THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE AMAZON KINDLE EDITION

Not worth having. The work is not scanned in properly. It lacks a hyperlinked table of contents. SO if you want to find "A Man with a Maid" you have to click through all the pages between here and there to get to it. That sort of spoils the moment so to speak.

Heck the table of contents
R e a d s l i k e t h i s

How hard is it to do the job right?

This publication detracts from the Kindle's reputation. Amazon ought to withdraw it.

This book is essentially a directory of Victorian erotica, recapping highlights of each major effort (of which there are many). Should the reader be expecting something else, he or she will almost certainly be disappointed.

It would have been nice if the editor included a bibliography, so people could read an entire novel. For example, The "Romance of Lust" selection doesn't do its author justice. The original is a big book, wherein the author couldn't possibly have held a job anywhere since he devoted his entire day to erotic diversions. No one was safe, not even his aunt and sisters. Well, maybe the family dog. Other selections were uninteresting too. Is the editor really a Major? Why do we need his military rank in such a book? Is he still in active duty???

As is the case with most larger editions, this collection of stories is a mixed bag, containing both mediocre and well-written work. I was slightly disappointed that such a high number of the stories were dedicated to lesbian themes, while the m/m homoerotic element seems to have been neglected altogether. Also, as another reviewer already mentioned, a few of the stories stuck out like sore thumbs (as they were clearly written in the 20th century, which I found a real turn-off.)

That being said, I give the collection three stars simply because the good stories contained within were *very* good and the size of the book offers the reader plenty of different stories to choose from, depending on what (s)he is in the mood for.