Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure

'Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure', better known as 'Fanny Hill', is one of the most notorious texts in English literature. As recently as 1963 an unexpurgated edition was the subject of a trial, yet in the eighteenth century John Cleland's open celebration of sexual enjoyment was a best-selling novel. Fanny's story, as she falls into prostitution and then rises to respectability, takes the form of a confession that is vividly coloured by copious and explicit physiological details of her carnal adventures. The moral outrage that this has always provoked has only recently been countered by serious critical appraisal. Cleland's highly entertaining book is a classic of erotica that holds a unique place in English fiction. AUTHOR: John Cleland (1709 -1789) was languishing in Fleet Debtor's Prison when the first volume of his notorious erotic classic, 'Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' was published. Promptly banned, it was not legally published in England again until 1970, by which time it was better known as 'Fanny Hill'. Cleland died in poverty and obscurity; his book is now considered "the best erotic novel in the English language".