Fanny Hill

This past Wednesday, we had our latest Erotic Book Club meeting. We had a smaller turn out, in part because it was the middle of the week (yet appropriately named hump-day), but we made the most of it. The selection, Fanny Hill, Or, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland, is considered a classic and one of the first significant pieces of erotica in literature. After reading such a nasty choice penned by a former porn star on our previous outing, we wanted something a bit more refined with better writing. Plus, the description on the back of the book is appealing.

Forced by the death of her parents to seek her fortune in London, Fanny Hill is duped into prostitution by an old procuress. In Mrs Brown's bawdy-house the naive young woman begins her sexual initiation - progressing from innocence to curiosity and desire - and soon embarks on her own path in pursuit of pleasure, until she at last finds true love. John Cleland's story of Fanny's rise to respectability was denounced after its publication by the then Bishop of London as 'an open insult upon Religion and good manners', while James Boswell called it 'a most licentious and inflaming book'. But beside its highly entertaining and boisterous depictions of a startling variety of sexual acts, Fanny Hill stands as one of the great works of eighteenth-century fiction for its unique combination of parody, erotica and philosophy of sensuality.

The main incorrect assumption I held was that there would be some sort of plot. Alas, it essentially followed Fanny from one lover to another, with very little in the middle. Though I'd agree that the sexual descriptions could be entertaining to read, when placed in rapid succession, they grow tiresome. Nevertheless, the delicate language added an element of fun. Here's one of my favorite passages:

"The brute had, it seems, as I afterwards understood, brought on, by his eagerness and struggle, the ultimate period of his hot fit of lust, which his power was too short-lived to carry him through the full execution of; of which my thighs and linnen received the effusion."

I had to read that twice before it dawned on me what had occurred: premature ejaculation.

The one thing I did appreciate about the novel is that Fanny doesn't have some sort of moral transformation at the end and repent for her sexual lifestyle as I might have expected. Instead, she seems proud of the fact that she slept her way into a fancy inheritance which then allowed her to live happily ever after with the real love of her life.

At any rate, I don't recommend Fanny Hill; although the pieces are fine it doesn't add up to a worthwhile sum. We'll be sure to screen our next selection a bit more closely.

Like any erotica party, it's not just about what you read, but what you put in your mouth. As the host this time, I spent the better part of the day making food for the party, but as anyone can tell you, I'm hardly a chef. It was challenging not only on a baking level, but also on a creative level: what new erotic snacks could I bring to the table?

Phallic Faguette: Requires one loaf of French bread, two bagels, greens, and cheese.
Sausage Fest: Tiny wieners and dipping sauce
Celerbacy with Nut Cream: Celery and peanut butter
Cunt Cakes: These gave me the most trouble. After cracking the eggs, I managed to forget to put the whites into the mixing bowl, mixing everything without them, then pouring them into the individual cupcake tins. After realizing my mistake, Katy and I did our best to slip some egg into each segment of batter and stir it in, but I don't think it came out as ideally as it should have. We did have fun drawing vaginas with icing and shaving chocolate for pubic hair.