Fanny Hill (Collectors Library) [Hardcover]

John Cleland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005 | Series: Collectors Library

Forced by the death of her parents to seek her furtune in London, Fanny Hill is duped into prostitution by an old procuress. In Mrs Brown's bawdy-house the naive young woman begins her sexual initiation and soon embarks on her own path in pursuit of pleasure, until she at last finds true love.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Collectors Library (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904919499
• ISBN-13: 978-1904919490
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,598,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fanny Hill, May 30, 2008

By 

Greg (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fanny Hill - Memoirs Of A Woman Of Pleasure (Illustrated) (Paperback)

Published in 1749, this is a fascinating insight into social and sexual mores of the day. It is a highly romanticised account of the life of a courtesan and prostitute. I read the 'dirty bits' as a teenager, and it is interesting to read it in full as an adult. Its plot has parallels with moral novels of the time (such as Richardson's "Pamela", a dreary novel I studied at university). The language is convoluted, with hugely long and complex sentences. It is not a particularly easy read. Interestingly, oral sex and the clitoris do not figure in the sexual practices.

This edition is illustrated, but there is no information on who did the drawings. It would also have been nice to have an introduction to explain the history of the work (which was banned for a long time). Also, the edition has more typos than it should.

Overall, an intersting read, but this edition does have some flaws.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars review of seller and book, May 12, 2010

By 

Michelle "Sunshine" (Everett, WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fanny Hill (Collectors Library) (Hardcover)

I have a collection of about 40 of these pockect sized books. I make it a point to read them atleast twice before I shelf them. I really enjoyed this book. It was funny, sad, insightful and thought provoking.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fanny Hill Still Rocks, January 21, 2012

By 

Ruffslitch (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fanny Hill (Collectors Library) (Hardcover)

On the heels of reading another male author writing from the female perspective ( Daniel Dafoe's "Moll Flanders" ) I read this book and was reduced to blushes! Then I finished the first chapter and REALLY got an education into the erotic scene of 18th century sex! Goodness,but they had a bawdy time! At least this young lady did; after being orphaned at a tender age she seeks her fortune in London and rapidly goes astray though it is hard to feel sorry for her as she seems to enjoy her downfall exceedingly.

Entire paragraphs are made of single sentences in this naughty tale. Our heroine delights in feasting her eyes on the forms of her cohorts,male and female, describing the sights, sounds, and sensations of her debauchery with charmingly nautical and martial allusions. There is so much sex enjoyed within these covers that it would , in retrospect, have seemed difficult to tie them all together with a plausible plot but the author does so with marvelous felicity. Progressing from her initial lesbian encounter to group sex to witnessing a gay male encounter, Fanny Hill avoids a pitiful end in dissolution by a stroke of great good fortune, which leaves the reader feeling rather uplifted by all the goings-on.

If I am not badly mistaken this is the period in English history in which the Puritans, rather put off by these sorts of things, shoved off for America. And the rest,as they say, is history. Enjoy!