Please Note: This page of the Parlor contains material that is intended for mature readers.
A. N. Roquelaure and Anne Rampling
After I bought the Mayfair books, I was interested in reading more of Anne Rice's
books. Vampires really didn't grab me at the time but erotica did. It turned out Anne Rice had written some high quality
porn in the mid 1980's and I was interested.
I went to the bookstore at the University and bought Exit to Eden and Belinda. I had seen Exit to Eden
when it was made into a movie but I wasn't really surprised to discover that the book wasn't a comedy. I read through it
and later on, bought the three Beauty books. They were the most dazzling erotica I had ever read, well written, polished,
and the combination served to enhance the pleasure.
See below for descriptions of the erotic tales of Anne Rice...
A. N. Roquelaure
The Erotic Adventures of Sleeping Beauty Vol. I, II and III (Plume, 1983, 1984, 1985; November
1990 eds)
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty:: In the traditional folk tale of
"Sleeping Beauty," the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss
of a Prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind's unconsciousness.
Now Anne Rice's retelling of the Beauty story probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring
its undeniable connection to sexual desire. Here the Prince awakens Beauty, not with a kiss, but with sexual initiation.
His reward for ending the hundred years of enchantment is Beauty's complete and total enslavement to him...
Beauty's Punishment: This sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty,
the first of Anne Rice's elegantly written volumes of erotica, continues her explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology
of human desire. Now Beauty, having indulged in a secret and forbidden infatuation with the rebellious slave Prince Tristan,
is sent away from the Satyricon-like world of the Castle. Sold at auction, she will soon experience the tantalizing punishments
of "the village," as her education in love, cruelty, dominance, submission, and tenderness is turned over to the brazenly
handsome Captain of the Guard. And once again Rice's fabulous tale of pleasure and pain dares to explore the most primal
and well-hidden desires of the human heart.
Beauty's Release: In the final volume of Anne Rice's deliciously
tantalizing erotic trilogy, Beauty's adventures on the dark side of sexuality make her the bound captive of an Eastern Sultan
and a prisoner in the exotic confines of the harem. As this voluptuous adult fairy tale moves toward conclusion, all Beauty's
encounters with the myriad variations of sexual fantasy are presented in a sensuous, rich prose that intensifies this exquisite
rendition of love's secret world and makes the Beauty series an incomparable study of erotica. In it, Anne Rice makes the
forbidden side of passion a doorway into the hidden regions of the psyche and the heart.
Beauty's Kingdom: Before E. L. James and Sylvia Day, there was Anne
Rice: Discover Beauty's Kingdom, the fourth novel in the bestselling Sleeping Beauty series.
Mega-bestselling author Anne Rice, writing as A. N. Roquelaure, returns to the mysterious kingdom of Queen Eleanor in this
new chapter of her Sleeping Beauty series. When the great queen is reported dead, Beauty and Laurent return to the kingdom
they left twenty years before. Beauty agrees to take the throne, but she insists that all erotic servitude be voluntary. Countless
eager princes, princesses, lords, ladies, and commoners journey to Beauty's realm, where she and her husband usher in a new
era of desire, longing, and ecstasy. Provocative and stirring, Rice's imaginative retelling of the Sleeping Beauty myth will
be adored by her longtime fans and new readers of erotica just discovering the novels.
Exit to Eden (Dell Mass Market Second Edition, October 1989): "We
all dream of the forbidden but some of us make those dreams come true."
In her best-selling "Vampire" books, Anne Rice daringly exposes the erotic link between fear and desire while Lestat and Rice's
other charismatic "blood drinkers" draw us, irresistibly, to the dark side of ourselves.
With the same mystery, menace, and intensity, Exit to Eden continues to explore the forbidden by taking us to The Club,
a vacation paradise where no aspect of sexual pleasure is taboo. And just as Story of O shocked the Sixties by speaking
aloud what had only been whispered, Exit to Eden gives voice to the sexual secrets of this decade...looking boldly
at those who enslave themselves for love and those who love only to be enslaved.
Belinda (Jove Edition, May 1988): Belinda is the ultimate fantasy.
A golden-haired object of desire, fresh and uninhibited. But to Jeremy Walker, a handsome and famous 44-year-old illustrator
of children's books, Belinda is a forbidden passion. She's sweet sixteen - and the most seductive woman he's ever known. Bewitching,
beguiling...
Referenced early on in Exit to Eden, Story of O is a French
novel written under the pen name Pauline Reage. It was first published in France in 1953 (Histoire de O) to sensational
reactions. The story content was so strongly sexual that it was banned in Great Britain and only reached the United States
in the 1960's when the book was translated into several languages, most notably English.
What is most remarkable about this book is that it was written in pencil in a notebook by a French woman for her married lover.
Her name was Dominique Aury. Aury was afraid he was going to leave her, and so she wrote this tale of total devotion and
enslavement to his love. When she showed the finished story to her lover, he was so impressed that he arranged to have it
published in France.
When the book began to be translated into other languages, another interesting part of the book's publishing history unfolded.
Though Aury herself was a translator, she did not translate her book herself.
In 1975, a film adaptation of the book was made starring Corinne Clery as O (James Bond enthusiasts will recognize her as
the Bond girl in Moonraker). Though the film was not a great cinematic achievement, its subject matter caused a sensation
throughout the countries it was released in, resulting in another ban in Great Britain. In many cities where the film was
screened in adult theaters, picketers protested outside, denouncing the film as yet another example of society tolerating
violence against women.
Did Aury manage to keep her lover? Yes, she did. So much so that when he died in the late 1960's, they penned a sequel to
Story of O together, titled Return to the Château. This book was published in 1969, a year after Aury's lover's
death.
So what IS Story of O?
Frankly speaking, Story of O is about a young French woman who works as a photographer in Paris. In spite of her shameless
sexual promiscuity in the past, O has fallen in love with Rene, and will do anything to keep his love. Knowing this, and
perhaps enslaved to the admiration of his childhood friend Sir Stephen, Rene takes O to a country chateau where she stays
for several weeks, being trained as a sexual slave.
The book gives explicit but sensual and erotic descriptions of O being bound and whipped on several occasions, and made to
follow rules that are designed to render her completely submissive to the masters of the chateau. When O leaves to go home,
she learns that her sexual enslavement will not end at the door. Her entire life is changed to accommodate her new identity
as a slave.
In due time, Rene presents O to Sir Stephen, who quickly initiates O to a darker side of enslavement. Sir Stephen is a fascinating
blend of tender lover/cruel master as he pushes O to test the limits of her willingness to submit and her ability to withstand
cruel punishment.
Story of O is a well-written novel and to compare it to the massive catalog of today's erotica, it still stands apart
as one of the most intense and dynamic portrayals of the psychology of desire and submission. Those who prefer tastefully
written erotic stories and have not read this book will find it well worth their private reading time. For many, it is one
of the golden standards of quality, timeless erotica that only a few authors, including Anne Rice, have ever been able to
achieve.
