These adventures of a Victorian heroine are considered by some to still be shocking as Eveline explores her sexuality in a series of erotic encounters from a very young age. She has a veneer of propriety which heightens her casual sexual behaviour and provides a revealing insight into our perceptions of Victorian society. Talented actress Sally Farmiloe captures this dichotomy beautifully.
This is the best known work of the Austrian writer and poet Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch who based this tale of love, humiliation and obsession largely on his own life and gave the English language the word masochism. A compelling well written story it has inspired and influenced many psychologists, artists, writers and musicians from Thomas Mann to the Velvet Underground and even Freud, since its first publication in 1870. The reader Michael Praed is an accomplished actor whose extensive experience confidently captures this fascinating story of torment and sexual female domination.
Notorious Frank Harris in his own lifetime at the beginning of the 20th century was an editor, journalist and publisher - a well known personality both professionally and personally as his aggression and bravado made him larger than life. However, it is undoubtedly his detailed scandalous account of his sexual exploits that remain his lasting legacy. Leslie Grantham's reading, admirably captures this vivid depiction of his many erotic encounters.
Subtitled the Secret Diary of a Victorian Gentleman, this book was banned for being sexually explicit and pornographic but following its publication has become known as an erotic masterpiece. No one really knows the identity of the pleasure seeking author or what in this diary is fact or fiction but Richard Johnson's reading makes a convincing and compelling case as the chronicler of this important document.
Journal of Love continues the story of of Anais Nin's eventful bohemian life which began with Henry and June. Her pioneering insightful writing is considered the finest in the genre of female erotica. Maryam D'Abo, famous as a Bond leading lady, captures the honesty and sensuality of Nin's beautiful book.
A Man With A Maid is the story of Jack, a Victorian gentleman and his revengeful seduction of Alice and other women who he entices into a specially created padded room which he dubs the Snuggery. His sexual exploits are vividly related in delicious detail which the warm sensual voice of the narrator delivers to heightened effect.
The Perfumed Garden is perhaps the most comprehensive treatise on the art of love making and sexual pleasure. Written over 400 years ago in Arabia by Shayakh Umar ibn Muhammed al-Nefzawi it is unquestionably one of the greatest books ever written on the subject of eroticism. It delicately and joyously catalogues innumerable and imaginative acts of coitus. Both tender and practical, The Perfumed Garden is a timeless work of literature that will enrich and enlighten students for love of future generations as surely as it has done so in the past. This production is read by Frances Tomelty, a talented and versatile actress who's work covers both films, TV and of course, the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has performed a number of audio recordings and received several awards.
The Kama Sutra is the world's most famous instruction manual on love and sexual technique. Written in the ancient Hindu language of Sanskrit 1700 hundred years ago it has long been accepted as the definitive treatise upon the subject of sexual behaviour. It is remarkable that it is still as relevant and instructive today as it was when it was written. Our production is read by Gabrielle Drake, a well known and respected actress who has performed in a variety of celebrated productions.
The Marquis De Sade completed the first draft of Justine Volume 1, a powerful and compelling descent into the realms of sexual perversity and sado masochism, during two weeks in 1787 while a prisoner in the Bastille. Sexual degradation, humiliation and erotic pain are eloquently and openly explored in a novel that was to become the most famous and infamous of all de Sade's work. Despite six reprints the book's candor and sexual explicitness outraged the French establishment so much so that both de Sade and his publisher were arrested and instructed to relinquish any further copies and manuscripts in their possession. Today Justine Volume 1 remains a quintessential chronicle of unspeakable carnal desires. This production is read by Susan Penhaligon who will be very familiar for her television work amongst which 'Casualty', 'Upstairs Downstairs', and 'Bergerac' take their place alongside her ground breaking role in 'Bouquet of Barbed Wire'.
Fanny Hill by John Cleland. In the world of erotica the story of Fanny Hill is well known and much admired. It was written whilst Cleland was in debtor's prison and was to become one of the most prosecuted and banned books in history. Our audio version is read for you by the acclaimed actress Frances Barber.
Listen to Plaisir D'Amour and step into a world of rich in sensuality. A World of illicit liaisons and secret rendezvous on tree lined boulevards and smoke filled cafes, of silk stockings and snatched glances, of bohemian bawdiness and haute monde decadence - where blissful afternoons are spent in half shuttered rooms and cognac and whispered propositions melt the will. Enter the intimate circle of Jeanne Verney, her brothers Maurice and Gerard, and their friends and lovers who all form an intricate ronde in pursuit of - Plaisir D'Amour.
Joie D'Amour By Anne-Marie Villefranche. Set in Paris in the 1920s, this book is an erotic classic sensually written in an enthralling and titillating style that consists of short stories with many of the same characters tied together and each story with its own climax. The stories follow the fortunes of a group of idle young French aristocrats and their secret liaisons and erotic escapades. This book is read by Katinka Wolf who transports us deftly into this appealing and uninhibited world.
