Sodom, Or the Quintessence of Debauchery (The New Traveller's Companion Series) [Paperback]

John Wilmot (Author), Earl Rochester (Author)

Book Description

Series: The New Traveller's Companion Series | Publication Date: August 1, 2004

The most obscene play ever written. Rochester, a member of the court of Charles II of the England, had a rep as the most outre sexual deviant of his day. The drama gives us Sodom's king, Bolloxinion, his wife Cuntigratia, their children, generals, ministers and servants engaging in an impossibly wide series of activities, (hook being that *traditional* sex was abandoned, by edict...)

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About the Author

Wilmot was born at Ditchley in Oxfordshire, England. He was the son of a Cavalier hero and his deeply religious wife. By the age of eighteen he had already been involved in a number of affairs, one of which resulted in the birth of an illegitimate daughter. In 1665 he kidnapped the much sought after heiress Elizabeth Malet, whom he later married. His rakish lifestyle and wit earned him the favour of Charles II and he remained a favourite of the king even though he was banished from the court on a number of occasions. Wilmot's poetry often expresses a feeling of disgust at the futile nature of his life, a life he seemed to repent for during its last year, whilst being cared for by the rising Anglican Bishop, Gilbert Burnet. Wilmot's work gives great insight into the over-indulgent lifestyles led in the court of Charles II and he writes more frankly about sex than any previous writers in the seventeenth century. He influenced and was admired by a large number of poets including John Dryden, Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope. He was also known to be a great patron of writers, if a little unpredictable with his support. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 52 pages
• Publisher: olympiapress.com (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596540990
• ISBN-13: 978-1596540996
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,228,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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This review is from: Sodom, Or the Quintessence of Debauchery (The New Traveller's Companion Series) (Paperback)

Sodom, or the Quintessence of Debauchery, is just exactly what it says it is: the most obscene play ever written. And one of the funniest. Rochester pokes delightfully cruel fun at Charles II and his lascivious court with a clear eye and a wicked wit. He skewers all the mistresses, court ministers, rakes and hangers-on with delicious ease at the same time providing a spectacle of human foibles that laughs at and with itself. It's pithy, it's hilarious, and yes, it is about as dirty as it can be. Bravo Lord Rochester! Sodom is a winner.

Those not familiar with Charles II's court would do well to check out Wikipedia or some such site to get a bit of political grounding before diving into the orgy. It helps to make the jokes even funnier and the entire scope of the play shines when seen as the Mother of all Obscene Political Satires. It should rank right up there with Lysistrata as one of those plays, written for a specific time and place, that show a universality within human sexuality by attacking mankind's ever-expanding attempts to legislate morality and hide from our own essential silliness.