The fact that 50 Shades of Grey keeps topping the bestseller lists says little for the literary taste of consumers.
The painfully popular read, which spawned from Twilight fan fiction, has discriminating readers more likely to reach for a red pen than for any instrument of excitement. Frankly, anything that refers to a woman’s ‘inner goddess’ in all seriousness – more than once – should be abandoned before the first cringe-worthy chapter is out.
But the one thing 50 Shades of Grey should be proud of is that it has made it fashionable to talk about erotic novels again. We have put together a list of a few of our suggestions to get you hot under the collar, without sacrificing your love of quality literature.
Taming the Beast – Emily Maguire (2004)
Australian author Emily Maguire made her debut with this thought-provoking, controversial novel about an English teacher who begins a mutually-abusive affair with one of his 14 year-old students. The text jumps straight in and pulses with sexual energy, beginning when the affair begins. With a brutal twist on a coming of age story, Maguire examines the sometimes unexpected effects such a relationship can have. You might not like the sex in this book for young adults but you can’t deny its literary merit.
Written on the Body – Jeanette Winterson (1993)
With remarkable control of language and theme, Winterson tells the sensual story of a narrator who has an affair with an unhappily married woman. The trick to it is that it is never revealed whether the narrator is man or woman.
Winterson describes the sheer, uninhibited passion that comes from falling in love. This beguiling and tragic book examines both romantic love and sexual attraction, as well as forcing the reader to question their own ideas about gender.
Delta of Venus – Anaïs Nin (1978)
This book of short stories, with occasional reccurring characters, deals with all manners of scandalous sexual themes, including incest, homosexuality, paedophilia, prostitution, infidelity, and abuse.
The stories are highly charged and exotic, while still maintaining Nin’s devotion to the study of women. Written seemingly effortlessly for a dollar a page, this book does everything to prove why Nin is so known for her erotic works.
A Sport and a Pastime – James Salter (1967)
This novel of obsession, about both sex and the power of youth, centres around an unnamed narrator, who fixates on the relationship between a young American man and his French girlfriend, as they travel through France. All the details of the scenes the narrator was not there to witness (and there are a lot of details) are his to make up, and he does so with relish.
Wrapped in magnificent prose, with a rhythm that takes over, this is a story of a voyeur who loses track of which parts he saw, and which he dreamed.
Fear of Flying – Erica Jong (1973)
This funny, wise and touching novel tells the story of 29 year old poet, Isadora Zelda White Stollerman Wing, who has a steamy affair whilst on holiday with her second husband.
Though it may have lost some of its raciness with time, and it probably isn’t as scandalous as it once was, it is still a light-hearted exploration of relationships and sex, and is the kind of book you’ll wish you’d read years earlier.
The Story of O – Pauline Reage (1954)
The Story of O was written as a series of letters in response to the writer’s lover claiming that a woman could not write anything as erotic as that by Marquis de Sade. She definitely proved him wrong.
The story revolves around a beautiful Parisian fashion photographer, who is taken to a chateau by her lover to be trained to serve an elite group of men, allowing herself to be chained, whipped, branded and pierced. It is highly erotic through its brutality, while remaining thoughtful and poignant.
Tropic of Cancer – Henry Miller (1931)
Through stream of consciousness, Miller blurs the lines between memoir and fiction in his series about a young expat writer in Paris, who has been awake for 36 hours straight.
It can be a bit of a tough read, and not for the faint-hearted. Banned for thirty years after initially being published and held in high esteem by George Orwell, this book ticks all the boxes of being a controversial classic.
The Swimming Pool Library – Alan Hollinghurst (1988)
This no-holds-barred account of the gay lifestyle in pre-AIDS London is the gold standard for gay literary fiction. This clever and observant novel is funny, sad, darkly erotic, and above all else, honest.
Set in 1983, the apparently irresistible young aristocrat William Beckwith, meets the elderly Lord Nantwich in a public toilet shortly before the latter suffers a heart attack. Upon being resuscitated by William, the Lord commissions William to write his memoir and uncover the buried and sordid secrets of his past.
Couples – John Updike (1968)
Updike tells the story of sex in suburbia. He features eight couples and their interwoven friendships – some of whom swing in the open and others who cheat on the sly – and the ultimate demise of those friendships.
It’s a bit of a long haul, and perhaps not as raunchy as some others, but with exquisite prose and strong dialogue, Updike fans will appreciate his wit and intellect to the end.
The Blood of Flowers – Anita Amirrezvani (2007)
Set in 17th-century Persia, a 14 year-old girl learns the craft of rug design to support herself and her widowed mother, until she is forced into a sigheh, a three month marriage contract, to be renewed at the discretion of her husband, and more often than not, abandoned when he tires of her. During her time with her temporary husband, she learns how to satisfy men, and is forced to question the importance of her dignity.
As well as being sensuous, it is also a compelling story that reminds us that erotica belongs in every time and place.
