{{short description|Victorian erotic novel}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{italic title}} '''''The Romance of Lust, or Early Experiences''''' is a [[Victorian literature|Victorian]] [[erotic novel]] written [[anonymously]] in four volumes during the years 1873–1876 and published by [[William Lazenby]]. [[Henry Spencer Ashbee]] discusses this novel in one of his [[bibliographies]] of [[erotic literature]]. In addition the compilers of ''British Museum General Catalogue of Printed Books'' list this book. {{Wikisource|The Romance of Lust}}
==Content== The [[novel]] is told in [[first-person narrative|first person]], and the [[protagonist]] of the novel is Charlie Roberts. Charlie possesses a large [[penis]], much [[virility]], and a seemingly insatiable [[sexual appetite]]. The novel begins with "There were [[threesome|three of us]]—Mary, Eliza, and myself." Charlie describes his sexual initiation as an adolescent—as he is "approaching fifteen". He catalogs his sexual experiences including [[incest]] with his sisters Eliza and Mary, sex with his governesses, and his later sexual exploits with various male and female friends, and acquaintances. Besides incest, the book deals with a variety of sexual activities, including [[orgies]], [[masturbation]], [[lesbianism]], [[flagellation]],<ref>{{cite book | title=The book browser's guide to erotica | first=Roy Harley | last=Lewis | publisher=[[David & Charles]] | year=1981 | isbn=0-7153-7949-6 | page=158 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=When passion reigned: sex and the Victorians | first=Patricia J. | last=Anderson | publisher=BasicBooks | year=1995 | isbn=0-465-08991-7 | page=[https://archive.org/details/whenpassionreign00ande/page/95 95] | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/whenpassionreign00ande/page/95 }}</ref> [[fellatio]], [[cunnilingus]], [[gay sex]], [[anal sex]], and [[double penetration]]. [[Taboo]] subjects such as [[homosexuality]], [[incest]],<ref>{{cite book | title=Women in English social history, 1800-1914: a guide to research | volume=2 | first=Barbara | last=Kanner | publisher=Garland | year=1990 | isbn=0-8240-9168-X | page=539 }}</ref> and [[pedophilia]] are common themes in the [[novel]].
==Authorship== Questions of [[authorship]] exist for this novel, and there are two likely candidates, [[William Simpson Potter]], and [[Edward Sellon]]. Sellon is the author of other erotic novels and a book on [[snake worship]], whereas Potter wrote and had privately printed two books of letters on the [[Prince of Wales]]' visit to India in 1875–1876. From examining the text in ''Letters from India during H. R. H. the Prince of Wales visit in 1875–6, from William S. Potter to his sister'', one could make a stronger case for Potter, as there are similarities in writing style between the book of letters and ''The Romance of Lust''. Ashbee asserts that Potter acted as editor to contributions by a number of aficionados.
==Scholarly study== Scholarship on this novel is limited, although it is mentioned in passing in a number of [[historical]] works on the [[literature]] of the [[Victorian era]]. [[Steven Marcus]] discusses ''The Romance of Lust'' in some detail in his book ''The Other Victorians: a Study of Sexuality and Pornography in Mid-Nineteenth-Century England'' (1966), as does [[John Alfred Atkins]] in his historical survey, ''Sex in Literature'' (1970-1982).
Marcus's study is psychological in nature, relies much on the work of [[Sigmund Freud]], and he invents a word to describe the sexual activities in this novel, "[[pornotopia]]", which he describes as being like a place where "all men ... are always and infinitely potent; all women fecundate with lust and flow inexhaustibly with sap or juice or both. Everyone is always ready for everything" (p. 276). Given the [[libido]]s of the characters, the comment is apt. Because of the often unrealistic description of sexual activities and positions in ''The Romance of Lust'', Marcus uses the word vector to describe the mechanical sex acts. He also speaks of emotional deprivation in conjunction with the work, because the characters do not interact with one another as real, thinking, and feeling persons would do.
==Publication history== The first uncensored modern edition of this work was published in 1968 by [[Grove Press]]. Since then it has been republished by a number of publishers in the United States and the United Kingdom.
==Works that make substantial comment on or criticism of the novel== * Henry Spencer Ashbee (as Pisanus Fraxi), "Catena librorum tacendorum", 1885 * [[John Atkins (writer)|Atkins, John Alfred]]. ''Sex in Literature.'' London: Calder & Boyars, (1970–1982) * [[Steven Marcus|Marcus, Steven]]. ''The Other Victorians: A Study of Sexuality and Pornography in Mid-Nineteenth-Century England.'' New York: [[Basic Books]], (1966) * Lisa Z. Sigel, "International exposure: perspectives on modern European pornography, 1800-2000", [[Rutgers University Press]], 2005, {{ISBN|0-8135-3519-0}}, pp. 105–116
==References== {{reflist}} * [[Gaétan Brulotte]], John Phillips, ''Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature'', CRC Press, 2006, {{ISBN|1-57958-441-1}}, p. 1048 * Patrick J. Kearney, ''A history of Erotic Literature'', Macmillan, 1982, {{ISBN|0-333-34126-0}}, pp. 9–10 * [[Donald Serrell Thomas]], ''A Long Time Burning: the history of literary censorship in England'', Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1969, p. 273
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romance Of Lust}} [[Category:1873 British novels]] [[Category:1874 British novels]] [[Category:1875 British novels]] [[Category:1876 British novels]] [[Category:Works published anonymously]] [[Category:Victorian novels]] [[Category:British erotic novels]] [[Category:English novels]] [[Category:Fiction about incest]] [[Category:BDSM literature]]