Fanny Hill

Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure

By: John Cleland

Narrated by: Magda Allani

Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure is the highly explicit account of an innocent country girl who, on being orphaned, finds herself trapped into prostitution in London Town. The precise and intimate descriptions of her professional experiences, albeit couched in elegant language that never stoops to vulgarity, caused a scandal upon the book's publication in 1748, earning a fortune for its publisher and a court summons for its author.

Its republication caused it once more to be the subject of a court case as recently as 1963. Copious sexual content notwithstanding, Fanny Hill is essentially a love story, and important because it is a rare exploration of the sentiment from a viscerally physical perspective. Its insights into the hypocrisies often entwined in love bonds, and the material and social concerns that often conflict with - if not altogether obscure - pure attraction and feeling are as relevant today as they were then.

Public Domain (P)2014 Magda Allani

Elegant Erotica

Although I am not a fan of erotica, this classic tale of a young woman's sexual encounters captivated me. The writer's voice is brilliant (I was more enthralled with the writing than the story). Although erotica, not a vulgar word was used.