It’s no secret. I cannot resist the lure of a second-hand book. Something about the mystery of who owned it before… How many owners – and how many others – had held it in their hands and read the very same pages? Words woven by a stranger, most likely no longer living. A voice reaching out from the past, still influencing the living.

Even less can I resist a book with titillating content. The title, ‘An Anthology of Erotic Prose’ can hardly be misinterpreted. I decided on the spot it would be mine, and I would savor the contents a little at a time.

My first expedition into new erotic landscapes was with Violette Leduc, a French author and protegée of Simone de Beauvoir.

Born the illegitimate daughter of a servant girl, young Violette spent most of her childhood suffering from an ugly self-image. Life become more interesting at boarding school where she experienced lesbian affairs with a classmate and a music instructor who was fired over the incident. Not surprising, the main subjects of her writing are female love and desire.

Continue reading →