Memoirs of Fanny Hill was written in debtor's prison in 1784 and was the first modern erotic novel in English. A young woman, Fanny Hill, is forced by poverty to go into service, but is tricked into becoming a prostitute instead. She is then saved by her love, only to have his jealous father send him from the country some months later. She moves from one lover to the next, gaining maturity with each encounter, and nearing her...happy ending.
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I listened to a Librovox recording of this on Youtube without any context because it's on the “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die” list. Little did I know, I'd be listening to an old man read a female POV smut book from the 18th century. I guess I assumed it would be more of a ‘Memoirs of a Geisha' type book.
Obviously there's little substance in the story other than women's vaginas (often described as slits) getting demolished by penises described as battering rams, wonderful machines, stiff staring truncheons, and engines of love-assaults. Super creative choices, to be sure.
The book is definitely on the list due to its cultural significance (as a banned book and first example of pornographic prose) rather than its allure or quality of writing.
