Erotic Literature Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gaius Petronius

"Satyricon" is a fictional work written in a mixture of prose and poetry. It details the adventures of the narrator, Encolpius and his sixteen year old lover, a boy named Giton. The boy is constantly being enticed away from him by others, despite Encolpius's efforts to keep him faithful.

This is a rare surviving example of a Roman novel.

Answer: Medieval

"Decamaron", written in 1353, recounts stories of lecherous monks and seduced nuns. Some five centuries after publication it still causes controversy, with eight destruction orders being made by English Magistrates between 1954 and 1958.

Answer: Lady Chatterley's Lover

Originally written in 1928, "Lady Chatterley's Lover" was not published in the United Kingdom until 1960, and the publication caused a scandal, due not only to its explicit nature, but also the use of previously banned four letter words.

Publication was a test of the new Obscenity Law, which came into effect in 1959, which allowed publishers to escape conviction if the work was of literary merit. After a trial lasting some three weeks a jury of nine men and three women returned a "not guilty" verdict.

Answer: Fanny Hill

Written by John Cleland while he was in debtors prison this novel epitomises the battle for and against censorship. It was first the subject of a court case in 1749, an expurgated version was published in 1750, and was again the subject of a prosecution, although this was subsequently dropped. In 1821 it was banned for obscenity in the United States, and was not published there again until 1966.

In the UK an unexpurgated version appeared in 1963, and, despite the defence arguing that it was bawdy rather than obscene, an obscenity prosecution succeeded. It was finally published without prosecution in 1970.

Answer: The Tropic of Cancer

Sir Richard Burton, a famous explorer, translator, soldier and diplomat translated and published "Kama Sutra", "Ananga Ranga" and "The Perfumed Garden" under the auspices of the "Kama Shastra Society". Because this was a private club and the books were circulated only amongst members prosecutions for obscenity were avoided.

"The Tropic of Cancer" is by Henry Miller.

Answer: Venus in Furs

Written by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch and published in 1870 this book introduced the world to masochism (named after the author) for the first time. The Marquis de Sade wrote on the theme of sado-masochism with books such as "Justine", and a correlation between the two was established around 1910.

Answer: Song of Songs

"Song of Songs" or "Song of Solomon" is generally believed to have been written by Solomon himself. The main characters are an un-named man and woman, and their relationship is explored from courtship through to consummation.

Answer: Heptameron

"The Heptameron" is a collection of 72 short stories. Written by Marguerite of Navarre it was meant to contain 100 stories, but when the author died only 72 had been written. It was first published in 1558, using only 67 of the stories, but a year later the full version was published.

Answer: Sappho

Sappho was born on the Isle of Lesbos sometime between 630 and 612BC. Her poetic themes are of passion and love and her name is the origin of the word sapphic, which was applied to female homosexuality in the early 19th Century, as was lesbian, which comes from Lesbos.

Answer: Xaviera Hollander

Xaviera Hollander is a former call girl and madam. Born in 1943 she spent the first two years of her life in a Japanese internment camp. In the early 1960's she made her way to America via South Africa, and in 1968 she quit her job as a Secretary to become a call girl making $1000 a night.

A year later she opened her own establishment called "The Vertical Whorehouse", and became New York's best known madam. In 1971 she wrote "The Happy Hooker" considered a landmark book of the time because of its very positive attitude to sex.