The novel “Fanny Hill, or the memoirs of a light woman” was written in the distant year 1749, but to this day it is considered one of the most scandalous books ever published. Its author is John Cleland.
His novel about Fanny Hill was for many years considered by the Puritans as pornographic reading, but today it has been rehabilitated by literary scholars as a work of art, and its author has been compared with the best English novelists.
One of the few portraits of John Cleland (1709-1789)
“Fanny Hill or the memoirs of a light woman” holds another championship – as the most banned book in the history of literature. Even in the USA, perceived as a country proclaiming freedom, the book was allowed to be printed only in 1966.
It had previously been published by Peter Holmes and was read illegally, passed from hand to hand, as an erotic classic.
In 1821, in Massachusetts, a trial for obscenity was instituted against the publisher Holmes, but he appealed to the Supreme Court for his innocence, arguing that none of those present had read the book.
Nevertheless, they condemn him.
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In 1960, a lawsuit known as The Memoirs of John Cleland v. Attorney General was filed and the US Supreme Court “vindicated” the novel posthumously. In 1966, a century and a half after the Massachusetts trial, the novel appeared in an uncensored edition on the US book market.
In 2006, the editorial board of the erotic publication “Playboy” chose Cleland’s novel as “the most erotic novel in the history of mankind”.
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In the author’s homeland – Great Britain, his novel met fierce opposition for a long time. The Anglican Church went all the way to the Secretary of State of Great Britain with a request “to stop the circulation of this profane book, which is an open insult to the Church and good manners”.
Cleland was arrested on the charge of “corrupting the king’s subjects”. However, the court acquitted him. And not only that, the state even granted him an annual pension, and upon handing it over, they wished him “to continue using his talent for good”.
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You are probably asking yourself, how does this miracle happen, that they not only acquit the “foul-mouthed” author, but also reward him with a pension? – Well, by an unexpected twist of fate, or as they say, the writer’s guardian angel appeared, in the person of an influential person. In short, Cleland unexpectedly got “connected”.
Coincidentally or not, among the readers of his book was one of the state councilors – Lord Greenville, who described Cleland as a very talented writer.
After his acquittal, Cleland felt obliged to continue writing to earn his pension, and dabbled in journalism and drama, but was unsuccessful in those genres. He died at an advanced age, forgotten by all.
In his homeland, Great Britain, they began to print his novel only in 1970 and republish it to this day.
Well, conservative folk psychology still has a say in some places in the kingdom, and so it turns out that a London university periodically removes the book from its syllabus, citing that it is “potentially offensive to female students”.
Anyway, in the 20th century, the author of “Fanny Hill, or the memoirs of a light woman” John Cleland “resurrected” for literature in the civilized world. Cinema also worked for the lasting glory of his work.
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And here we have to note that against the background of many modern liberties, this book no longer seems scandalous at all, there are still puritanical or strictly religious moral countries that do not allow this book on their book market – it continues to to be banned in South Africa, the Middle and Far East, and even modern Australia.
Cover of the English edition of the novel “Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Light Woman” by John Cleland
“Fanny Hill or the Memoirs of a Light Woman” is actually an erotic novel about the adventures of the famous courtesan Fanny Hill.
Today, such books are full of such books, written by not very popular authors, but Cleland’s novel remains a classic of the genre, so to speak.
Who is the author, John Cleland? You won’t believe it, but all his life this man was an ordinary clerk. For years he worked as an administrative officer in colonial India. It so happened, however, that he was convicted of debts and ended up in prison.
It was there that he wrote his famous novel, without previously having the slightest idea of writing, or “suffering” from writerly ambitions.
Who is his heroine: She is a young country girl who goes to London and becomes a prostitute there. The narrative, as may be supposed, is given in epistolary form on behalf of Fanny Hill herself, but now as a grown woman.
The emphasis is placed on the erotic, and the shyness typical of a young girl is used as a means of luring male attention.
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Fanny Hill is an interesting heroine who manages not only to survive, but also to master the male world with a well-used weapon of hers – her sexuality. Her account in later years, however, makes the “light woman” in the novel suddenly look quite different from what lies behind the contemptuous definition of “prostitute.”
Some specialists are even of the opinion that, knowingly or not, Cleland managed to satirize a huge part of the enlightenment literature by ridiculing the falsehood behind the concept of virtue.
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The vice in Cleland’s book is just part of the maturation of a girl who becomes a woman and has no other choice to survive. Cleland sets her heroine free and she takes advantage of it, so to speak, in a way that is quite natural to the circumstances.
This scandalized the 18th century reader, but today it seems an understandable choice. Eroticism is no longer perceived as something dirty, but as part of the “landscape” of an impasse, which the heroine must overcome in the only way possible for her.
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Cleland created a work that was provocative for its time. In a sense, it even succeeds in parodying false morality. We’ll bring you back in a moment to the fact that that Secretary of State must have also quite secretly read the book that was passed illegally from hand to hand. She certainly, during the time when she was forbidden, provoked the imagination of many lustful people, and it is very likely that they were the ones who denied her the most strongly of all. And here we must note, to the credit of this defender of Cleland, that he not only admits a knowledge of the book, but gives a favorable opinion of its author.
John Cleland was born on September 24, 1709 in Kingston upon Thames, Great Britain.
He lived to be 79 and died on January 23, 1789. 235 years ago.
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Cleland’s story is very interesting. So far we have mentioned only some of her features, but there are also more curious moments of this person’s life. John Cleland was born into a wealthy family. He grew up in London. He studied at the prestigious Westminster School.
After being expelled for unknown reasons from the school, he joined the British East India Company. There he successively performed military and clerical service, and for 12 years lived in Bombay.
In 1740, at the age of 31, he returned to his native Great Britain, and after going broke and accumulating debts, he was sentenced. He entered prison in 1748.
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It was there, as already mentioned, that he wrote his novel. The original title was “in reverse” – “Memoirs of a Light Woman, or Fanny Hill”. In March 1749, when Cleland was released from prison, he again faced a problem – he was accused of the novel. To avoid a lawsuit, Cleland rewrote it into a censored version. This turned out to be completely unnecessary, as anonymous publishers continued to reprint his novel in the uncensored version.
In 1753, when the censored edition “Dictionary of Love” was published, it did not arouse any reader interest.
As already mentioned, Cleland did not continue his literary activity, although he tried briefly as a poet, and as a journalist and dramatist he failed. He wrote several plays in the period 1751-1768, but none of them received the attention of the theaters. Until the end of his life, he was forced to support himself as a translator and literary critic.
He does not succeed with women either – he remains unmarried and without heirs. The man who was ahead of his time and dared to describe eroticism through one of the most fiery and passionate heroines in world literature, remained alone and unrecognized for the rest of his life.
Fame follows him posthumously, but forever.
Emmy MARIANSKA
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2024-01-27 18:51:52
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