A New York Times Notable Book Kink is a groundbreaking anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire, BDSM, and interests across the sexual spectrum, edited by lauded writers R.O. Kwon and Garth Greenwell, and featuring a roster of all-star contributors including Alexander Chee, Roxane Gay, Carmen Maria Machado, and more. A Most-Anticipated book of 2021 as selected by * Marie Claire * O, The Oprah Magazine * Cosmopolitan * Time * The Millions * The Advocate * Autostraddle * Refinery29 * Shape * Town & Country * Book Riot * Literary Hub * Kink is a dynamic anthology of literary fiction that opens an imaginative door into the world of desire. The stories within this collection portray love, desire, BDSM, and sexual kinks in all their glory with a bold new vision. The collection includes works by renowned fiction writers such as Callum Angus, Alexander Chee, Vanessa Clark, Melissa Febos, Kim Fu, Roxane Gay, Cara Hoffman, Zeyn Joukhadar, Chris Kraus, Carmen Maria Machado, Peter Mountford, Larissa Pham, and Brandon Taylor, with Garth Greenwell and R.O. Kwon as editors. The stories within explore bondage, power-play, and submissive-dominant relationships; we are taken to private estates, therapists’ offices, underground sex clubs, and even a sex theater in early-20th century Paris. While there are whips and chains, sure, the true power of these stories lies in their beautiful, moving dispatches from across the sexual spectrum of interest and desires, as portrayed by some of today’s most exciting writers.

"Justine" by Marquis de Sade is a provocative novel that explores the life of a young woman named Justine. The book was first published in 1791 and has since become a significant work in the realm of erotic literature. Sade's writing challenges societal norms and delves into the darker aspects of human nature. The story follows Justine, a virtuous girl who is determined to maintain her innocence despite the corrupt world around her. After the death of her parents, Justine is left to navigate a society filled with vice and moral depravity. She encounters a series of characters who embody the extremes of human behavior. Each encounter tests her resolve and challenges her beliefs about virtue and morality. Throughout the novel, Justine's experiences are often harrowing. She faces betrayal, abuse, and exploitation at the hands of those who seek to take advantage of her purity. Sade uses her character to illustrate the struggles of maintaining virtue in a world that rewards vice. Justine's journey is marked by a constant battle between her ideals and the harsh realities she faces. Sade's writing style is notable for its explicit content and philosophical undertones. He does not shy away from graphic depictions of sexual encounters and violence. These elements serve to provoke thought and challenge readers to confront their own beliefs about morality and desire. Sade's exploration of human sexuality is both controversial and thought-provoking. The novel is often seen as a critique of the societal norms of the time. Sade questions the hypocrisy of a society that punishes virtue while rewarding immorality. Justine's suffering is a reflection of the consequences of living in a world governed by selfish desires. Sade's portrayal of her struggles invites readers to consider the complexities of human nature. Despite the dark themes present in "Justine," the novel also contains moments of resilience and strength. Justine's character embodies the struggle for autonomy and self-determination. Her journey is not just one of victimhood but also of survival. She seeks to understand her place in a world that seems determined to break her spirit. "Justine" has been the subject of much analysis and interpretation. Scholars have explored its themes of power, gender, and morality. The novel raises important questions about the nature of good and evil. Sade's work invites readers to reflect on their own values and the societal structures that shape them. The book has faced censorship and controversy since its publication. Many have deemed it immoral or inappropriate due to its explicit content. However, it is also celebrated for its literary merit and its bold exploration of taboo subjects. "Justine" remains a significant work in the canon of erotic literature and continues to spark discussion among readers and scholars alike. In addition to its literary significance, "Justine" has influenced various art forms. Its themes have been explored in film, theater, and visual art. The novel's impact can be seen in the works of later writers and artists who grappled with similar themes of desire and morality. For readers interested in exploring the complexities of human sexuality and the nature of virtue, "Justine" offers a compelling narrative. It challenges conventional notions of morality and invites readers to confront their own beliefs. Sade's work is not for the faint of heart but offers a profound exploration of the human condition. In conclusion, "Justine" by Marquis de Sade is a powerful and controversial novel that delves into the struggles of maintaining virtue in a corrupt world. Through Justine's journey, Sade explores themes of morality, desire, and the complexities of human nature. The novel's explicit content and philosophical insights make it a significant work in the realm of erotic literature. It continues to provoke thought and discussion, making it a must-read for those interested in the darker aspects of human experience. Whether viewed as a critique of society or a celebration of individual resilience, "Justine" remains a provocative and enduring work.

In addition to being shocking and controversial, Marquis de Sade's novel " The 120 Days of Sodom" was the first attempt by a writer to portray, in an absolutely raw way, many of the philias that can emerge from a human being. It tells the story of four rich libertine men who decide to experience ultimate sexual gratification in orgies. To do this, they lock themselves up for four months in an inaccessible castle with a harem of forty-six victims, most of them teenagers of both sexes, and recruit four pimps to tell the story of their lives and adventures. The women's narrative becomes inspiration for sexual abuse and torture of the victims, which gradually escalates in intensity and ends in a surprising way. Right at the beginning of "The 120 Days of Sodom" the author Marquis de Sade warns: "I advise the excessively modest reader to immediately put my book aside, so as not to be scandalized, as it is already evident that there is not much chaste in our plan, and we dare to guarantee that there will be even less of it in the execution... And now, dear reader, prepare your heart and your mind for the most impure narrative ever written since our world began, a book without parallels among the ancients, or among us, moderns..."

Welcome to the 3 Books To Know series, our idea is to help readers learn about fascinating topics through three essential and relevant books. These carefully selected works can be fiction, non-fiction, historical documents or even biographies. We will always select for you three great works to instigate your mind, this time the topic is: Classic Erotica. - Lady Chatterley's Lover by D H Lawrence - Venus in Furs by Ritter von Leopold Sacher-Masoch - Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John ClelandLady Chatterley's Lover is a novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, first published privately in 1928 in Italy, and in 1929 in France and Australia. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, when it was the subject of a watershed obscenity trial against the publisher Penguin Books. Venus in Furs is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called Legacy of Cain. Venus in Furs was part of Love, the first volume of the series. It was published in 1870. The novel draws themes, like female dominance and sadomasochism, and character inspiration heavily from Sacher-Masoch's own life. Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure—popularly known as Fanny Hill (an anglicisation of the Latin mons veneris, mound of Venus)—is an erotic novel by English novelist John Cleland first published in London in 1748. Written while the author was in debtors' prison in London, it is considered "the first original English prose pornography, and the first pornography to use the form of the novel". This is one of many books in the series 3 Books To Know. If you liked this book, look for the other titles in the series, we are sure you will like some of the topics

The Eleven Thousand Rods (1907), by Guillaume Apollinaire, is an erotic novel that blends satire, excess, and transgression. The work follows the adventures of Prince Mony Vibescu, a young Romanian nobleman who travels across Europe indulging in endless sexual experiences. His journey becomes a grotesque parade of extreme situations in which desire is portrayed as unrestrained, irrational, and often violent, defying the moral and literary conventions of its time. The narrative unfolds as a succession of episodes in which the protagonist plunges into orgies, fantasies, and sexual practices taken to the limit. Each episode seems to outdo the previous one in extravagance and rawness, making the novel a catalog of excesses that is deliberately provocative. Apollinaire does not seek to conceal obscenity but instead highlights it as a narrative device and as an ironic critique of social hypocrisy. Beyond its scandalous content, The Eleven Thousand Rods can also be read as a parody of adventure and travel novels. Mony Vibescu's journeys place him in an international context that reflects early 20th-century Europe, but the absurd and grotesque situations transform the voyage into an exploration of the boundaries of the body and desire. In this way, the work moves between eroticism, satire, and the absurd. Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918) was a French poet, storyteller, and art critic, one of the central figures of the European avant-garde. Known for his innovative poetry and his closeness to movements such as Cubism and Surrealism, he also ventured into erotic fiction with works such as The Eleven Thousand Rods and The Eleven Thousand Whips. His irreverent style and his ability to break taboos made him an influential author, whose work continues to attract interest for its boldness and literary experimentation.

Venus in Furs (1870) is a novella by Austrian writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Intended as an installment in his Legacy of Cain cycle, Venus in Furs has far surpassed the author's other works in cementing his reputation. The work, which inspired Kraft-Ebing to define "masochism," is notable for its exploration of female dominance and male sexual submission. The frame narrative begins with an unnamed man who develops a strong sexual desire after having a vivid dream. Disturbed, he tells a friend about the vision, in which he spoke to the goddess Venus while she was wearing luxuriant furs. In the memoir, which appears to have written by his friend, a man named Severin von Kusiemski describes his love affair with Wanda von Dunajew. Moved by a strong desire, Severin asks to be made Dunajew's slave, and though she denies him at first, she soon grows to take advantage of her power of the man. As she grows progressively more violent in her treatment of Severin, she satisfies his desires while simultaneously learning more about her own. Severin, who describes himself as a suprasensualist travels with Dunajew to Florence, where he invents an identity as a Russian servant and acquiesces to a life of degradation and servitude. When Dunajew meets a domineering and attractive man, however, she begins to question her role as Severin's master, desiring a submissive relationship of her own. Venus in Furs is a semi-autobiographical work describing Sacher-Masoch's details through a thin veil of fictional devices, and remains influential for charting new territories in the representation of alternative sexualities. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs is a classic of Austrian literature reimagined for modern readers.

This is probably the oldest complete text you will have the opportunity to read. " The Golden Ass" is the only novel that has survived intact from the time of the Roman Empire. It was written by Lucius Apuleius in the 2nd century AD and tells the adventures and troubles faced by the protagonist, also named Lucius, who at a certain point in the story is transformed into a donkey and experiences extraordinary situations, including some of a sexual nature. As is common in many ancient texts, the main story is interrupted to include several short tales, the most famous of which is "Cupid and Psyche." "The Golden Ass" has been a source of inspiration for numerous classic writers such as Boccaccio, Cervantes, and Shakespeare, and is part of the renowned collection "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die."

No other writer has so scandalized proper society as the Marquis de Sade, but despite the deliberate destruction of over three-quarters of his work, Sade remains a major figure in the history of ideas. Philosophy in the Bedroom presents the clearest summation of his political philosophy. It follows three aristocrats as they indoctrinate the fifteen-year-old Eugénie de Mistival in "the principles of the most outrageous libertinism." 200 years after de Sade's death, readers will continue to find shock and delight in this most joyous of his erotic works.

Clara is a sadist and hysteric, who delights in witnessing flayings, crucifixions and numerous tortures, all done in beautifully laid out and groomed gardens, and explaining the beauty of torture to her companion—the narrator. Her hysterical orgasm and resulting exhaustionis a curious exploration of pain and pleasure and made this novel a trulyerotic BDSM masterpiece!_x000D_ Excerpt:_x000D_ "One evening some friends were gathered at the home of one of our most celebrated writers. Having dined sumptuously, they were discussing murder—apropos of what, I no longer remember probably apropos of nothing. Only men were present: moralists, poets, philosophers and doctors—thus everyone could speak freely, according to his whim, his hobby or his idiosyncrasies, without fear of suddenly seeing that expression of horror and fear which the least startling idea traces upon the horrified face of a notary. I—say notary, much as I might have said lawyer or porter, not disdainfully, of course, but in order to define the average French mind…"

Venus in Furs describes the obsessions of Severin von Kusiemski, a European nobleman who desires to be enslaved to a woman. Severin finds his ideal of voluptuous cruelty in the merciless Wanda von Dunajew. This is a passionate and powerful portrayal of one man's struggle to enlighten and instruct himself and others in the realm of desire. Published in 1870, the novel gained notoriety and a degree of immortality for its author when the word "masochism"—derived from his name—entered the vocabulary of psychiatry. This remains a classic literary statement on sexual submission and control. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.