Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland

Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland

A book snob about Fifty Shades? Well, this is my argument for not being a book snob when it comes to the subject of erotic fiction. Fanny Hill was the little black book, sitting on top of the shelves with no cover and read in secret. Now? My edition is an Oxford World’s Classic and I sat in a two-hour seminar comparing the novel to Hogarth’s paintings. Perhaps it is too far to go and say that future English students will be studying Fifty Shades alongside some great painters of this day. But you can’t deny that the Fifty Shades phenomenon is something to be discussed. On this review, discussed at a later time because I have not read it.

Back to Cleland!

You will adore Fanny Hill. She is hilarious and charming at the same time, educated as a London prostitute but never far away from her country upbringing. Cleland does not shy away from his explicit descriptions, including one where Fanny fakes her own virginity for a client. Another scene, when Fanny’s original client’s “wand had prov’d too weak to lay” she has sex with a sailor and the innuendo is hysterical. There is a strong plot, interspersed with other prostitute’s tales of dalliance. The novel was made legal in America in 1963 and England in 1970. Despite this, it was widely read and several hundred editions were published. The book first appeared in 1748-9. Cleland’s own history is fascinating and it would be worth picking up a biography or book of criticism on Cleland’s work. The blurb on the back describes Fanny as being “among the great heroines of eighteenth- century literature.” Completely accurate.

(My edition is Oxford World’s Classics, unexpurgated text and edited by Peter Sabor)