Erotica Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sex

"Sex", despite being, as many would expect, sexual in nature, ended up topping the New York Times Bestseller List after its release in 1992. The artist, who made her fame in chart-topping CDs from the 1980s onward, darkened her image with her fifth album "Erotica", in the same year, scandalously tearing down anti-feminism at the same time.

While many described the book as racy in its time, it ended up developing strong critical acclaim by being a defining work of the early 1990s. Madonna continued to rebrand herself further with subsequent works. Photographer Steven Meisel continued in the business, garnering high-profile jobs with both "Vogue" and "Vogue Italia".

Answer: Gabriel's Inferno

"Gabriel's Inferno" paired up a professor at the University of Toronto with a college girl enrolling in his class on Dante's literature and, sure enough, things heated up. Originally penned as online fan-fiction, the popularity of other works being adapted for publishing around the same time caused Penguin to jump on the work.

The novel's popularity resulted in two sequels: "Gabriel's Rapture" and "Gabriel's Redemption", which appeared in subsequent years.

Answer: Lady Chatterley's Lover

Notable for its saucy use of obscene language and its inclusion of a romantic, erotic affair between a rich woman and a poor man in Britain, "Lady Chatterley's Lover" was a sensational work released at the end of the Roarin' Twenties, an era already highlighted by newer, more daring advances in media, the arts, and party-going.

The book was, in fact, banned in a handful of countries including the United States, the UK, and Australia. Many bookstores, well into the 21st century, still refused to sell it.

Answer: Bared to You

Allegedly, this book was the fastest-selling release by the publishers at Penguin to that point in the 21st century. "Bared to You", about a couple rekindling the romance in their lives after coming out of abusive pasts, ended up charting around the world, selling over half a million copies in its first year on shelves. Author Sylvia Day continued the series with "Reflected in You" in the same year and "Entwined With You" in 2013.

Answer: Juliette

Marquis de Sade, the man for whom the term 'sadism' was named, wrote "Juliette, or Vice Amply Rewarded" in 1797. Like his other works, the book was loaded with his philosophical views on violence and sexuality. Contrary to many other works of the period, however, it also featured vivid scenes of rape, incest, and graphic violence (as well as, yes, sexuality).

A companion work to de Sade's "Justine", the book was about a relatively horrible woman who, as a sex addict, got herself into all kinds of sadistic mischief. Napoleon, disgusted with the writing, imprisoned de Sade for over a decade until his death in 1814.

Answer: Fifty Shades Darker

Written online as "Twilight" fan-fiction by UK author E. L. James, the "Fifty Shades" stories were picked up by publishers and released in physical form in 2011 to a shocking response. In 2012, the sales came to a head with the release of "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed", bringing the novels to the top of the best-seller lists around the world and selling over one hundred million copies.

In the books, college student Anastasia Steele sparks a relationship with Christian Grey, ultimately getting into a kinky relationship. Critics panned the book's writing; readers ate it up.

Answer: The Story of O

Inspired by the works of Marquis de Sade and published under a pen name in 1954, "The Story of O" won awards upon its release in France for its liberating text, but was also subsequently banned for the lengths at which it describe scenes of BDSM and submissive/dominant relationships. Written as an epistolary work, it was actually revealed to be written by French author Anne Desclos.

The book has since been adapted for film, stage, and radio and has been considered a significant work during a time of reservation and relative prudishness after the Second World War.

Answer: S.E.C.R.E.T.

"S.E.C.R.E.T." was an interesting release when it showed up on store shelves, particularly because it emerged at the peak of "Fifty Shades of Grey's" popularity. Lisa Gabriele, who ran the Canadian version of "Dragon's Den" for over half a decade (and ended up ghostwriting the books for some of its panelists) was revealed as the author less than a year after the novel's release.

The book appeared on charts around the world and followed the story of Cassie Robichaud, a girl who, after finding a notebook, delved into a sexual underworld with many partners.

A sequel, "S.E.C.R.E.T. Shared", was released in 2013.

Answer: Lolita

While the book was called "Lolita", the 12-year-old girl in the book was actually named Dolores. Considering the subject matter of the novel, it's unsurprising that the book was both celebrated for its edginess and perversity, and banned for the same reasons. Nabokov claimed it was his favourite of his works, simply due to the challenge it presented.

It's also been considered one of the most noteworthy books of the 20th century by literary critics. It was made into a film by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, seven years after publishing.

Answer: Snuff

"Snuff", released in 2008, may not have been shock-writer Palahniuk's most famous novel but it was, for lack of a better word, shocking. Taking place on the set of a filmed orgy for an out-of-the-limelight porn star, "Snuff" followed three of the men waiting to be Cassie Wright's sexual partner...of six hundred...and the woman responsible for sending them on-set. Palahniuk also found fame with the novels "Fight Club", "Choke", "Haunted", and "Survivor".