Older books that include/subvert on – what were at the time – taboo themes?
I’ll start by saying that I would prefer to read something written in the 19th century or an an even earlier period.
I recently finished reading *Zofloya* by Charlotte Dacre, a book which was originally written in 1806. The narrative was thoroughly subversive in a lot of ways.
Taken from the back of the Oxford World Classics edition of the book:
*“The novel follows Victoria’s progress… through abuse and captivity, to a career of deepening criminality… to a fully conscious commitment to vice… The novel’s most daring aspect is its daring depiction of Victoria’s intense sexual attraction to her Moorish servant Zofloya that transgresses taboos both of class and race. A minor scandal… Contradicting idealised stereotypes of women’s writing, the novel’s portrayal of indulged desire, gratuitous cruelty, and monumental self-absorption retains considerable power to disturb.”*
I would love to read more books like this.
by eroticvultcha
2 Comments
Anne Lister would be up your alley, I think. She lived from 1791 to 1840, was well-educated with many intellectual interests, was well-travelled, a businesswoman, and had numerous open lesbian affairs. Her terrific diaries were the basis of a wonderful TV series about her called *Gentleman Jack*. Her diaries were written in code which was finally deciphered. You might check out *Female Fortune: the Anne Lister Diaries, 1833-36* edited by Jill Liddington, or the two volume *The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister* edited by Helena Whitbread.
*The Mysterious Stranger* by Mark Twain?
*The Monk: A Romance* by Matthew Gregory Lewis?