Although it has been less than a week since I posted the previous chapter of my erotic adventure story, The Lust World, the last chapter, which saw the action move to Lord Hoxton's stately home in Hampshire, has already attracted the most views of any of the previous chapters. So, in order to keep the momentum going, I have now posted Chapter 21 here.
Several people have written to say that they did not enjoy the last chapters, one in particular because of the BDSM element. However, as he rightly said, this was a popular theme in Victorian and Edwardian erotic literature and in art and photography too and so I wanted to include it. The readers of Edmund Molloy's book in 1913 would certainly have expected such scenes. distasteful as they now may seem to some modern views. I do think that the difference is, whether it is consesnsual (as in the story). In period erotica it is rarely so and I read a piece (form The Pearl, I think) where the violence was really quite nasty and was not, as in much of the erotica of the time, about the person being beaten really enjoying it.
Illustration by Luc Lafnet (Jim Black) (1899-1939)
Also, several people who are following the story do like these scenes and have requested them. Personally, having been brought up in, essentially, an all female household I was rather shocked to discover that there were women who enjoy light bondage and spanking. One girlfriend, in particular, really did like being tied up and pushed around a bit which I found very difficult to do. I am, however, someone who can separate fiction from reality. I enjoy reading military fiction, by the likes of Bernard Cornwell, but I certainly have no desire to be in the army, fight and kill. It doesn't mean that I don't enjoy reading battle scenes, however.
Likewise, in period erotica, there is a great deal made of women being taken against their will. Often this is portrayed as women protesting against advances when they don't mean it (the implication often being that surrendering would mark them as a slut and therefore protesting, despite their desire, is seen as what nice girls would do). In this literature, there are also some scenes of women being taken against their will and, of course, then finding that they enjoy it. This is, if you will, the John Norman, Gor novels approach and even when I read my first Gor novel as a teenager I realised that this was unpleasant nonsense and that women weren't like this at all. Nobody wants to be forced. That said there is a large body of Gor themed fantasies (many by women) on the internet.
However, these are all stories. They are not real life. A crucial difference. The whole point of fiction is that you can portray things that you would not undertake in real life. The Lust World is a fantasy and is written to appeal to the fantasies of some of my particular friends, for whom it was originally written. Sexual fantasies vary from person to person and it is something of a juggling act to fulfill the fantasies of different people. My own fantasies are easy to spot, as they all feature ladies with lovely, firm bottoms!
On a lighter note, one of my readers has saved all my Chapter Notes, which detail some of my historical research (I don't always get it right - someone pointed out an error regarding Spitzbergen recently) but I do try to ensure period accuracy on key issues. I will probably set up the Chapter Notes blog again.
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