Michel Millot

This is a great piece of historical erotica. Published in 1655 in French, this is a conversation between two cousins. The book was translated into English. This book was published in 1971. The introduction gives details about the book and its publishing history and background.

Unfortunately, I found the translation stilted. I suspect the translator was trying to stay true to the actual words and in doing so, I found the text mostly unreadable. Large blocks of text with no paragraph breaks, old-fashioned words and grammar ... Don't get me wrong, I love Shakespeare. I've read Pepys and books from this era. I just found this translation very cumbersome and not entertaining.… (plus d'informations)

The 'School of Venus' originally dates from 1655, and this Panther edition favours readers with a detailed and scholarly history of the progress in its publication since that date, detailing its widely varying fortunes as public attitudes to erotic literature have changed as a result of changes in social attitudes. Donald Thomas, the translator of this edition, has provided an extensive (63 pages) and detailed discussion of such historical factors, and of the context they should be set in. The book itself is delicately translated, and is essentially a 'how to' guide to the heterosexual erotic arts. As would be expected from its date of publication, the book offers predominantly male viewpoint, although it is written in the form of a dialogue (a common form in those days) between two women, and concentrates on the ways in while a male gives pleasure to a female. Attitudes to the 'inconvenience' of pregnancy are characteristic of upper-class affluence and privacy. This edition of the book, at least, provides a fascinating insight into the development of erotic life and its literary representation, and will be enjoyed by any student of erotic literature.… (plus d'informations)