On Memoirs of a Voluptuary, Or the Secret Life of an English Boarding School
Given the sleepy pace of this blog, you might think I have given up writing slash, but you'd be mistaken. I still write frequently, although lately my efforts have been devoted to completing a collection of Sherlockian pornographic stories for possible publication. But I still find time for other kinds of slash, and am working on my very first Aubrey/Maturin story as I have recently become enamoured of the Master and Commander series. So this blog will be updated, albeit slowly. Meanwhile, if you're interested in 19th and early 20th-century pornographic writings, see my recommendations at my Goodreads Author Page at www.goodreads.com/violetvernet
You can also follow me on Archive of Our Own, a fan fiction repository (though I still post any new writing to my LiveJournal as well, but Archive of Our Own is very user-friendly).
Recently I participated in Circlet Press' "Ten Dirty Books" series. I chose to write on Memoirs of a Voluptuary (full title: Memoirs of a Voluptuary, Or the Secret Life of an English Boarding School). Below is an excerpt of my essay, the full version can be found on the Circlet Web site.
Ask any collector to name a favorite piece, and most will cite their latest acquisition. I discovered Memoirs of a Voluptuary only a few months ago and have since become thoroughly entranced with this charming Edwardian schoolboy romp. I’m an ardent fan of the pornography of this era, and especially that which includes homosexual acts. The very phrase "Edwardian schoolboy romp" sets my voyeuristic heart aflutter.
Though published in the early twentieth century, it is purportedly a memoir written years after the events described. It is a classic naughty Victorian schoolgirl tale, except with bisexual boys - rather more unusual for the era. As with most anonymous vintage porn, the provenance is murky; it was likely published in 1905 by Charles Carrington, neè Paul Harry Ferdinando. His connection to fin de siècle notables such as Oscar Wilde, A. C. Swinburne, Sir Richard Burton, and Aubrey Beardsley - who were then regarded as sexual outlaws, if not outright mollies - makes the question of Memoirs’ true authorship an intriguing one. Like most Victorian pornographers, the writer is well-educated, and probably a youthful person, if the carefree Edwardian slang and jargon are any indication:
"You are doing it a treat," said Bob as he wriggled his bottom under my luscious caresses. "It feels ripping."
Read the rest on the Circlet Web site