Reviews

Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland

charlote_1347's review against another edition

3.0

Considering this was recommended to me during a lecture on Romantic eroticism, I didn't go into it expecting a swoon-at-explicit-sex-scenes novel (thank God). I liked Fanny - while she definitely wasn't a femme fatale figure, she was free with pleasure and unashamed by her natural impulses. By this point in my life I have had enough of moralistic heroines who consider themselves defiled because of a kiss, which made the women in this novel a breath of fresh air. The plot was mildly annoying despite how realistic it doubtless is. A woman of Fanny's age, station and talents would rely on being a mistress/being desired, which translates to relying on men, so understandably she does not decide she'd be better off without her biological counterparts, which was a complaint I came across when I was reading other reviews. Keeping in mind the time period in which this novel was written, it is remarkably forward thinking (whether or not it condones or endorses Fanny's lifestyle). A major drawback to this story, however, was the language. Most of the time it was passably acceptable, but during the sex scenes Cleland's scientific imagery just couldn't be overlooked. He made what should have been an erotic novel read like an instruction manual, and if you don't actively engage with the content it is so easy to grow bored. Because of issues with the language, which was a serious problem for me, I've only given Fanny Hill three stars.

paulaeatsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

2.75

sauvegypsy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Fell a sleep listening to as well as reading. 

byp's review against another edition

2.0

I think this was one of, if not the first, smut rags. It's actually pretty boring, even though there's porn on every page.

carladay83's review against another edition

2.0

I read this mostly out of curiosity. The story itself was not terribly engaging, mostly there to tie the sex scenes together as is the way with porn. The sex scenes themselves were both flowery and gross. I admittedly had a hard time following the excessively verbose and "poetic" descriptions of the scenes and when I could it was generally on the more messy, unsexy parts of the action. The moral of this story: Don't read 18th Century porn expecting it to be sexy...

b0hemian_graham's review against another edition

2.0

18th century 50 Shades, with better writing. meh.

cami19's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

katymurray's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

cheekylaydee's review against another edition

5.0

I started reading Fanny Hill earlier on this evening and the first half have just flown by. Fast paced, concise and surprisingly easy to read.
A young, innocent country girl goes to London to earn her fortune after the death of her parents. Thrust into the worldly city without a friend to rely on she finds herself entered into a world of debauchery and lustful licentiousness!. A tale of the journey of a young girl into womanhood. What a classic! Loving it!”

libraryofellen's review against another edition

1.0

Read for school, would never read again or recommend