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Gordon: A Novel
Louisa is a clever, self-reliant woman who has just been discharged from her duty as an officer in the British Army during World War II. In a London pub one afternoon she meets a slight, peculiar psychiatrist with queer eyes and a strange charisma. Within an hour, Louisa has been sexually conquered by him on a garden bench. So begins an affair in which Gordon compulsively violates Louisa’s body and psyche, while Louisa matches his onslaughts with an insolent submission. As their entanglement deepens, Louisa finds a heady emotional satisfaction beneath the humiliation that Gordon inflicts, and comes to a new understanding of her troubled history and the self that has emerged from it.Originally published under a pseudonym in 1966, Gordon was banned in England and Germany for its frank sexual content, and even today it remains provocative in its fearless probing of the boundaries of consent and submission.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1966
37 people are currently reading
1047 people want to read
About the author
Edith Templeton
19 books17 followersEdith Templeton was born in Prague, in 1916, in what used to be the Austro-Hungarian Empire but is now the Czech Republic. She died in 2006. She wrote both short stories and novels. She also used the pen name Louise Walbrook.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
August 4, 2020
Exceedingly controversial story, I can understand why it was banned and taboo for so long. However, this didn’t warm me to the story at all. It revolves around a woman named Louisa who meets a man named a Richard Gordon, and most of the book is them sleeping together. Gordon is into S&M and dominates and hurts Louisa frequently. The writing was terribly stilted (it felt sometimes like I was reading a script) and the story goes nowhere at all. I couldn’t stand either of the characters- Richard Gordon because he was so horrible and disrespectful and Louisa because she was so weak and wimpish. In a way I suppose they deserved each other.
September 12, 2012
This is an unsettling tale of sexual obsession, control and tragic love.
The limits the couple go to are beyond the norm of the era. A tale that may shock, but great reading with superb writing.
" Oh God, what have I let myself in for?, I thought as I looked into his eyes and found them decidedly unpleasant. They were deep-set, dark grey, and ringed with white, a peculiarity of the iris I had sometimes observed in very old people. But their almost sinister look derived probably from their placement. They were set at uneven levels, the left eye slightly higher than the right one. It must have been this which had given me my first impression of nastiness.
He was neither short nor tall, slender and narrow-boned, of an unimpressive physique I did not care for; and neither did I care for his face, though it held the same kind of fascination which informs the irregular and jutting outlines of a romantic ruin. The nose was high-bridged and uneven, the cheeks hollow beneath strong cheek-bones, the lips long, the chin beautifully and firmly rounded. The slightly waved jet-black hair grew low on to wide forehead, underscoring the somber pallor of the face like a cluster of dark ivy streaking down a flight of crumbling crenellations."
"I looked at him. Then I turned my face away. Beyond my upset I was flooded by a deep happiness, similar to the one he made me feel when forcing me to surrender to his virility. No one else before him had given me this gratification, but I realised now that the longing to be violated, body and soul, must have always been inside me."
"It was though I had been in possession of one of those small shells with Japanese flowers which are sold at street corners. When plunged into a bowl of water, the tightly sealed shell opens and the flat, dry, coiled-up, insignificant shreds of paper contained within float out and unfold their variegated and unsuspected splendour; with Gordon I had found my bowl of water."
review also @ http://more2read.com/review/gordon-by-edith-templeton/
The limits the couple go to are beyond the norm of the era. A tale that may shock, but great reading with superb writing.
" Oh God, what have I let myself in for?, I thought as I looked into his eyes and found them decidedly unpleasant. They were deep-set, dark grey, and ringed with white, a peculiarity of the iris I had sometimes observed in very old people. But their almost sinister look derived probably from their placement. They were set at uneven levels, the left eye slightly higher than the right one. It must have been this which had given me my first impression of nastiness.
He was neither short nor tall, slender and narrow-boned, of an unimpressive physique I did not care for; and neither did I care for his face, though it held the same kind of fascination which informs the irregular and jutting outlines of a romantic ruin. The nose was high-bridged and uneven, the cheeks hollow beneath strong cheek-bones, the lips long, the chin beautifully and firmly rounded. The slightly waved jet-black hair grew low on to wide forehead, underscoring the somber pallor of the face like a cluster of dark ivy streaking down a flight of crumbling crenellations."
"I looked at him. Then I turned my face away. Beyond my upset I was flooded by a deep happiness, similar to the one he made me feel when forcing me to surrender to his virility. No one else before him had given me this gratification, but I realised now that the longing to be violated, body and soul, must have always been inside me."
"It was though I had been in possession of one of those small shells with Japanese flowers which are sold at street corners. When plunged into a bowl of water, the tightly sealed shell opens and the flat, dry, coiled-up, insignificant shreds of paper contained within float out and unfold their variegated and unsuspected splendour; with Gordon I had found my bowl of water."
review also @ http://more2read.com/review/gordon-by-edith-templeton/
October 31, 2012
This isn't romance and this isn't erotica. It's far more about the psychology of sex and need and is only erotic if you're into a certain wry, distant, sharp-edged attitude. There's no flowery language or description of the act itself; it's about the mental states of everyone involved, so don't go for this one imagining it's another Fifty Shades or Anais Nin. It's good, but says more about post-war psychology and sexual freedom than it does about desire or emotions. There's certain aspects that feel dated now but it's fascinating to think this was banned; read it as an intellectual piece, but don't expect to be massively turned on by it. There isn't a nice character to be seen from cover to cover and I respect it for that. If you want to see romance here, you will, but my inclination is to see something bleaker and less fun.
July 15, 2010
Gordon is the story, told from her point of view, of a woman picked up one night in a London pub by a proverbial tall, dark stranger. Louise has returned from service in Germany as a captain in the British Army following the end of World War Two. She is all at sixes and nines and hopes to run into one of her ‘old gang’ in the pub. Instead, she meets Gordon, who singles her out from the crowd and whisks her away into the night. Louise is surprised at her docility in going with him. She is further surprised when, while they are walking in a park, Gordon literally sweeps her off her feet and forces himself on her. She has neither consented nor objected and wonders if the man’s acts qualify as rape. He finishes with her quickly, before she can decide how to react, and tells her to meet him the next day.
Louise becomes enthralled by Gordon. He dominates her ruthlessly, probing into the inner recesses of her mind to ferret out the dark secrets of her life. She submits to him sexually while struggling to maintain some semblance of equality with him. Her efforts are doomed.
Gordon is a psychiatrist, also recently returned from service in the army. He is cold, calculating and is thrilled by his ability to torment Louise mentally, using the tools of his profession. Louise reveals that she has fled her loveless marriage and is waiting for a divorce. Gordon picks at the scabs of her wounded psyche revealing to her for the first time the nature of her compulsions and the life of self delusion she has led.
The novel was written in the sixties and its publication was banned as pornographic. The scenes of sex are tame by today’s standards, yet compelling as Louise becomes his sexual thrall. Louise, while sexually experienced, would be considered sexually naïve today. She is shocked when Gordon insists on using her while she is menstruating, having believed that dire health consequences would follow. She is humiliated when Gordon takes the time for a full examination of her vagina, never having seen it herself.
It is only years later that Louise finally comes to terms with their intense, brief relationship. This realization helps her find what appears to be true happiness in a surprising way.
Gordon is a compelling read. One might quibble with the ease and suddenness with which Louise falls under Gordon’s domination, a weakness of the novel but a premise on which the entire work depends. The atmosphere of post war London is well recreated and the method by which Gordon assumes control over Louise is hypnotic. I recommend the book highly.
Louise becomes enthralled by Gordon. He dominates her ruthlessly, probing into the inner recesses of her mind to ferret out the dark secrets of her life. She submits to him sexually while struggling to maintain some semblance of equality with him. Her efforts are doomed.
Gordon is a psychiatrist, also recently returned from service in the army. He is cold, calculating and is thrilled by his ability to torment Louise mentally, using the tools of his profession. Louise reveals that she has fled her loveless marriage and is waiting for a divorce. Gordon picks at the scabs of her wounded psyche revealing to her for the first time the nature of her compulsions and the life of self delusion she has led.
The novel was written in the sixties and its publication was banned as pornographic. The scenes of sex are tame by today’s standards, yet compelling as Louise becomes his sexual thrall. Louise, while sexually experienced, would be considered sexually naïve today. She is shocked when Gordon insists on using her while she is menstruating, having believed that dire health consequences would follow. She is humiliated when Gordon takes the time for a full examination of her vagina, never having seen it herself.
It is only years later that Louise finally comes to terms with their intense, brief relationship. This realization helps her find what appears to be true happiness in a surprising way.
Gordon is a compelling read. One might quibble with the ease and suddenness with which Louise falls under Gordon’s domination, a weakness of the novel but a premise on which the entire work depends. The atmosphere of post war London is well recreated and the method by which Gordon assumes control over Louise is hypnotic. I recommend the book highly.
June 7, 2015
Takže. Začne to tak, že si mladá blbá nána sedne do hospody. Přijde k ní píčus, kterej jí od začátku uráží a chová se jako dement. Vedle něho i můj kamarád Spacák, který používá balící hlášku "pujč mi zamrdat," vypadá jako absolvent Jejlu. Náně to přijde urážlivé, ale protože je pitomá jak motyka, tak si řekne, že se s ním půjde podívat na jeho zahradu. Tam ji vojede asi tak jak Spacák vojížděl holky u nás za diskotékou Eden a mezitím si vymění pár vět, jejichž level debility by nepřebil ani Dan Nekonečný na heroinu. No a pak si dají druhý rande. Logický.
Do tohoto momentu, což je teprve nějaká 30 stránka jsem si říkal, že už to prostě nemůže bejt horší.
chvíle napětí...
samozřejmě, že bylo.
Druhé setkání:
"Kolik bylo manželovi, když od tebe utekl?"
"Sedmadvacet."
"Takže nebyl starý a krásný, co?"
"Přestaň s těmi stupidními řečmi. Co to s tím má co do činění?"
"Jak to mám vědět? To bys měla vědět ty. Ale už na to nemysli."
"Jsi vážně nemocný! To je jako ten příběh o muži, kterému bylo sděleno tajemství, jak vyrobit zlato z obyčejného kamene, jako jediná podmínka mu bylo uloženo, že nesmí ani na okamžik pomyslet na bílé slony. A on se samozřejmě nedokázal přimět k tomu, aby nemyslel na bílé slony. Tak proč mi říkáš, abych na to nemyslela. Od teďka na to myslet budu!"
"Budeš, ale nikam se nedostaneš."
"A kam bych se měla dostat? Nerozumím ti."
"Nemusíš mi rozumět."
"Kecáš jen samé blbosti."
Po tomto intelektuálním průjmu pak pro zlepšení image začne hlavní hrdinka sypat z rukávu Goetheho Mignona a Fausta, což byl od autorky velice chabý tah jak nás přesvědčit, že má mozek, když hned náhle protagonisté pokračují:
"Běž do koupelny. A tím nemyslím umít se. Jak tomu říkáte?"
"Utrousit penci?"
"Ne, jinak!"
"Lu-lu."
"Jo, to je ono. Jdi se vylulat!"
LITERATURO, VZDÁVÁM SE.
PS: největší píčovina co jsem snad kdy otevřel.
PS2: nejotřesnější dialogy co jsem kdy četl.
PS3: nejvíc dementní postavy
PS4: poslední potvrzení mé doměnky, že jsem si v ranném dospívání postavil Odeon na piedestal (páč jsem nic jiného neznal) a ona to je přitom řada, kde vychází až neúměrně obrovské množství průměrných a podprůměrných sraček.
Do tohoto momentu, což je teprve nějaká 30 stránka jsem si říkal, že už to prostě nemůže bejt horší.
chvíle napětí...
samozřejmě, že bylo.
Druhé setkání:
"Kolik bylo manželovi, když od tebe utekl?"
"Sedmadvacet."
"Takže nebyl starý a krásný, co?"
"Přestaň s těmi stupidními řečmi. Co to s tím má co do činění?"
"Jak to mám vědět? To bys měla vědět ty. Ale už na to nemysli."
"Jsi vážně nemocný! To je jako ten příběh o muži, kterému bylo sděleno tajemství, jak vyrobit zlato z obyčejného kamene, jako jediná podmínka mu bylo uloženo, že nesmí ani na okamžik pomyslet na bílé slony. A on se samozřejmě nedokázal přimět k tomu, aby nemyslel na bílé slony. Tak proč mi říkáš, abych na to nemyslela. Od teďka na to myslet budu!"
"Budeš, ale nikam se nedostaneš."
"A kam bych se měla dostat? Nerozumím ti."
"Nemusíš mi rozumět."
"Kecáš jen samé blbosti."
Po tomto intelektuálním průjmu pak pro zlepšení image začne hlavní hrdinka sypat z rukávu Goetheho Mignona a Fausta, což byl od autorky velice chabý tah jak nás přesvědčit, že má mozek, když hned náhle protagonisté pokračují:
"Běž do koupelny. A tím nemyslím umít se. Jak tomu říkáte?"
"Utrousit penci?"
"Ne, jinak!"
"Lu-lu."
"Jo, to je ono. Jdi se vylulat!"
LITERATURO, VZDÁVÁM SE.
PS: největší píčovina co jsem snad kdy otevřel.
PS2: nejotřesnější dialogy co jsem kdy četl.
PS3: nejvíc dementní postavy
PS4: poslední potvrzení mé doměnky, že jsem si v ranném dospívání postavil Odeon na piedestal (páč jsem nic jiného neznal) a ona to je přitom řada, kde vychází až neúměrně obrovské množství průměrných a podprůměrných sraček.
April 1, 2021
A memoir written as fiction, this is a brilliant evocation of the psychoanalytic method, only conducted through the medium of a sexual relationship rather than a psychiatrist’s couch. Warning: contains genuine insights. That this book was banned for many years is absolutely no reflection on its contents, only on those who did the banning. Eliot’s line about humankind not being able to bear very much reality comes to mind.
October 8, 2012
I didn't know what to expect from tho book as it was banned before I was even born! But it was brilliant! I've never read anything like it, Gordon himself is a one off! ;)
February 22, 2021
Dit boek zat in de reeks "verboden boeken" die ooit bij De Morgen verkrijgbaar was.
Het is een vreemd verhaal: een intelligente vrouw die letterlijk valt voor een zeer dominante man en die zich veelvuldig laat verkrachten door hem. De man, Gordon, blijkt psychiater te zijn en vraagt haar uit over haar dromen. Zij moet vertellen.
Een flutverhaaltje, zou je denken. Maar er zit toch iets meer in. Ik zou het 3 sterren gegeven hebben, of 2,5, als het verhaal niet naar een hoger niveau werd getild door het bijzondere slot. 4 **** dus.
Leest zeer vlot weg.
Het is een vreemd verhaal: een intelligente vrouw die letterlijk valt voor een zeer dominante man en die zich veelvuldig laat verkrachten door hem. De man, Gordon, blijkt psychiater te zijn en vraagt haar uit over haar dromen. Zij moet vertellen.
Een flutverhaaltje, zou je denken. Maar er zit toch iets meer in. Ik zou het 3 sterren gegeven hebben, of 2,5, als het verhaal niet naar een hoger niveau werd getild door het bijzondere slot. 4 **** dus.
Leest zeer vlot weg.
April 25, 2015
Kniha, jejíž hlavními postavami jsou užvaněný psychiatr a jeho těžce submisivní milenka, která si od něj nechá líbit mlácení lékařským kladívkem.
Psychologický román, bylo psáno na přebalu.
Až doposud to zní slibně. Kdybych si měl vybrat znovu svou kariérní cestu, chtěl bych být psychiatrem a prudérní taky rozhodně nejsem. Taková kniha by ke mě mohla promlouvat.
Nepromlouvá.
Hlavním problémem díla je, že obě hlavní postavy jsou naprosto nesympatické, neřku-li debilní.
Gordon je žvanil, jehož hlubinné psychoanalytické konstrukce jsou tak průhledné, že jakýkoli člověk, která dosahuje IQ alespoň 90, do nich musí okamžitě vidět. Krom toho se k hlavní ženské postavě chová celou dobu jako zmrd. V jakési internetové recenzi jedné nadšené čtenářky jsem měl tu čest si přečíst, že jde vlastně o „přirozené a úžasné zachycení BDSM vztahu“. No nevím. To co jsem viděl já bylo znásilnění na prvních stranách a vlastně tak trochu lucky accident, že jeho oběť byla píča, která si takovou věc nechá líbit. V přístupu vrcholně nesympatického zamindrákovaného žvanila Gordona k hlavní hrdince není ani trochu vřelosti, ani trochu lásky a vnímat toto dílo jako pojednání o osudové lásce (jak se snaží přesvědčit doslov) je totálně mimo.
Hlavní ženská postava je pak naprosto plochá. V podstatě jediné co o ni víme je to, že poslouchá na slovo a to i muže, který ji „nepřitahuje“. Snaha o hloubku vlastně zrcadlí samotnou psychoanalýzu v tom, že jde o plytké žvatlání. Hloubka je pouze deklamovaná. Ve skutečnosti jsou téměř veškeré dialogy dvou hlavních postav mimořádně tupé. Ani ze strany hlavní ženské postavy nelze mluvit o lásce – podřízenost ji sice uklidňuje, ale nesobecký zájem o svůj protějšek ve skutečnosti neprojeví nikdy.
Takže když kniha není pojednáním o lásce a postavy jsou tupé, nesympatické a jednorozměrné, co nám zbývá? Zbývá sex.
Knize musím uznat, že i s minimalistickým popisem se jí povedlo to, že některé scény na mě působily vysoce eroticky. Problém ovšem je, že pokud by kniha chtěla uspět alespoň jako porno, musela by být daleko explicitnější a jít více do masa. Takhle je přesně tam, kde je např. Fifty Shades of Grey. Na pořádné porno málo odvážné, na psychologickou studii příliš blbé a šablonovité.
Doporočuji submisivním ženám a dominantním mužům s IQ <90 a lidem se zálibou v psychoanalýze.
Psychologický román, bylo psáno na přebalu.
Až doposud to zní slibně. Kdybych si měl vybrat znovu svou kariérní cestu, chtěl bych být psychiatrem a prudérní taky rozhodně nejsem. Taková kniha by ke mě mohla promlouvat.
Nepromlouvá.
Hlavním problémem díla je, že obě hlavní postavy jsou naprosto nesympatické, neřku-li debilní.
Gordon je žvanil, jehož hlubinné psychoanalytické konstrukce jsou tak průhledné, že jakýkoli člověk, která dosahuje IQ alespoň 90, do nich musí okamžitě vidět. Krom toho se k hlavní ženské postavě chová celou dobu jako zmrd. V jakési internetové recenzi jedné nadšené čtenářky jsem měl tu čest si přečíst, že jde vlastně o „přirozené a úžasné zachycení BDSM vztahu“. No nevím. To co jsem viděl já bylo znásilnění na prvních stranách a vlastně tak trochu lucky accident, že jeho oběť byla píča, která si takovou věc nechá líbit. V přístupu vrcholně nesympatického zamindrákovaného žvanila Gordona k hlavní hrdince není ani trochu vřelosti, ani trochu lásky a vnímat toto dílo jako pojednání o osudové lásce (jak se snaží přesvědčit doslov) je totálně mimo.
Hlavní ženská postava je pak naprosto plochá. V podstatě jediné co o ni víme je to, že poslouchá na slovo a to i muže, který ji „nepřitahuje“. Snaha o hloubku vlastně zrcadlí samotnou psychoanalýzu v tom, že jde o plytké žvatlání. Hloubka je pouze deklamovaná. Ve skutečnosti jsou téměř veškeré dialogy dvou hlavních postav mimořádně tupé. Ani ze strany hlavní ženské postavy nelze mluvit o lásce – podřízenost ji sice uklidňuje, ale nesobecký zájem o svůj protějšek ve skutečnosti neprojeví nikdy.
Takže když kniha není pojednáním o lásce a postavy jsou tupé, nesympatické a jednorozměrné, co nám zbývá? Zbývá sex.
Knize musím uznat, že i s minimalistickým popisem se jí povedlo to, že některé scény na mě působily vysoce eroticky. Problém ovšem je, že pokud by kniha chtěla uspět alespoň jako porno, musela by být daleko explicitnější a jít více do masa. Takhle je přesně tam, kde je např. Fifty Shades of Grey. Na pořádné porno málo odvážné, na psychologickou studii příliš blbé a šablonovité.
Doporočuji submisivním ženám a dominantním mužům s IQ <90 a lidem se zálibou v psychoanalýze.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2020
Remind of Iris Ogawa's Hotel Iris, it draws you in the story. In spite of its unusual elements, it is nonetheless one of the universal love stories, with discovering the other, discussing with him, gaining insight in yourself.
July 14, 2011
Emotionally shattering and beautiful. Really, all I can say. I read it in one day and I will probably be thinking of it for the next several weeks.
October 29, 2021
I’ld like to start by saying that I am not a fan of S/M either in real life (it all seems a bit silly, and a lot of hard work, to me) or its fictional version (‘Venus in Furs’ ditto for silly, De Sade far better when he is being funny). Thus I approached Templeton’s ’S/M’ novel with a degree of…er… trepidation.
Thankfully I need not have worried, it’s in neither the “I’m shoving this thing here and it’ll hurt you more than me” or the “I’m taking this delicate silken cord and winding it…” camps, but is instead a straightforward tale about psychological power in relationships.
Templeton’s other (excellent) novels are also concerned with this theme, parents wielding power over their children, societal pressures acting consciously or unconsciously upon those within it etc and although there is certainly some amatory unorthodoxy going on, it is really a way for the author to overtly tackle this subject.
She makes this easy for herself because the titular character is a psychologist which allows him to make observations about things such as her mother (if it’s not one thing it’s your mother), father and abortion. The narrator, although married and worldly, is demonstrated to be a psychological innocent tied to her past. Gordon often refers to her as “my poor child” or “my sweet child” as she tells him her dreams (“Go On.”) or seemingly banal tales of her past that are loaded with psychological meaning.
The sex acts partly to symbolise the psychological ‘denial’ the narrator is living under. “When he was about to take me, I was yearning for him to shatter me and break me down, and perhaps this was the reason I made difficulties….But at the same time, my resistance had another, a different meaning. I was also longing to shatter him… to drag him into my darkness…” but the narrator, by engaging with Gordon is, in effect, abdicating self-realisation because he is so controlling.
The ‘twist’ (this is not a spoiler) is that Gordon knows himself to be a flawed character - that his desire to be controlling has a psychological element to it that he also fears.
The novel makes reference to “the Heath trial”, a case still well known when the book was published in 1966. The story is set in 1946, the year Neville Heath ( a conman and sexual sadist) was tried, convicted and executed for the killing of two women. His defence was that of insanity, claiming that Heath knew what he was doing but not that it was morally wrong.
The book is written in Templeton’s usual wonderful precise crisp style which suits the Gordon personality - it fairly rattles along. However, the Gordon character is a bit too much of a psychological caricature to take very seriously and the book feels somewhat dated as a result.
But, to read interviews with Templeton done when the book was re-issued, she makes it plain that ‘Gordon’ is a real person and that the events in the book are largely autobiographical. As similar characters to those the narrator describes appear in the other volumes I have read makes me ponder the ‘reality’ of those previous ’fictions’ as well. Knowing this before I read Gordon might have poisoned it somewhat as I felt that the book was balanced more towards analysis than plot that this detracted from the overall volume.
Templeton is a wonderful author but is also an oddity, which are two great reasons to read her. In this respect reminds me of (of all people!) of Arthur Machen, as she will probably have various periods of ‘rediscovery/revival. However, I doubt she will never enter ‘the canon’ as Machen has done because there is no real ‘commercial’ element in her work (no ‘Great God Pan’) that will appeal to contemporary audiences. Whilst I can see why ‘Gordon’ might be hyped (sex sells) ‘Gordon’ would seem to me to be her least commercial work would be far better promoted as a ‘society’ novelist in the vein of Edith Wharton.
However, there are a trillion copies of this book online at a few pounds which makes her an inexpensive punt. I would still begin with her other novels…
Thankfully I need not have worried, it’s in neither the “I’m shoving this thing here and it’ll hurt you more than me” or the “I’m taking this delicate silken cord and winding it…” camps, but is instead a straightforward tale about psychological power in relationships.
Templeton’s other (excellent) novels are also concerned with this theme, parents wielding power over their children, societal pressures acting consciously or unconsciously upon those within it etc and although there is certainly some amatory unorthodoxy going on, it is really a way for the author to overtly tackle this subject.
She makes this easy for herself because the titular character is a psychologist which allows him to make observations about things such as her mother (if it’s not one thing it’s your mother), father and abortion. The narrator, although married and worldly, is demonstrated to be a psychological innocent tied to her past. Gordon often refers to her as “my poor child” or “my sweet child” as she tells him her dreams (“Go On.”) or seemingly banal tales of her past that are loaded with psychological meaning.
The sex acts partly to symbolise the psychological ‘denial’ the narrator is living under. “When he was about to take me, I was yearning for him to shatter me and break me down, and perhaps this was the reason I made difficulties….But at the same time, my resistance had another, a different meaning. I was also longing to shatter him… to drag him into my darkness…” but the narrator, by engaging with Gordon is, in effect, abdicating self-realisation because he is so controlling.
The ‘twist’ (this is not a spoiler) is that Gordon knows himself to be a flawed character - that his desire to be controlling has a psychological element to it that he also fears.
The novel makes reference to “the Heath trial”, a case still well known when the book was published in 1966. The story is set in 1946, the year Neville Heath ( a conman and sexual sadist) was tried, convicted and executed for the killing of two women. His defence was that of insanity, claiming that Heath knew what he was doing but not that it was morally wrong.
The book is written in Templeton’s usual wonderful precise crisp style which suits the Gordon personality - it fairly rattles along. However, the Gordon character is a bit too much of a psychological caricature to take very seriously and the book feels somewhat dated as a result.
But, to read interviews with Templeton done when the book was re-issued, she makes it plain that ‘Gordon’ is a real person and that the events in the book are largely autobiographical. As similar characters to those the narrator describes appear in the other volumes I have read makes me ponder the ‘reality’ of those previous ’fictions’ as well. Knowing this before I read Gordon might have poisoned it somewhat as I felt that the book was balanced more towards analysis than plot that this detracted from the overall volume.
Templeton is a wonderful author but is also an oddity, which are two great reasons to read her. In this respect reminds me of (of all people!) of Arthur Machen, as she will probably have various periods of ‘rediscovery/revival. However, I doubt she will never enter ‘the canon’ as Machen has done because there is no real ‘commercial’ element in her work (no ‘Great God Pan’) that will appeal to contemporary audiences. Whilst I can see why ‘Gordon’ might be hyped (sex sells) ‘Gordon’ would seem to me to be her least commercial work would be far better promoted as a ‘society’ novelist in the vein of Edith Wharton.
However, there are a trillion copies of this book online at a few pounds which makes her an inexpensive punt. I would still begin with her other novels…
June 7, 2021
Niečo, čo očakávam od Odeonu, nič viac, nič menej. Krásne ženské, tak ako to popísať... divne mäkké, ako vankúš, no pnúce sa. Templeton - nevedel som, čo od nej čakať, kým som si bleskovo prečítal teaser na obale. Erotika.
Stará pani, ktorá toto stvorila, ma decentne šokovala - decentne, lebo ona erotika, bola administratívne krutá. Šedá myš, úradnícka poddajnosť a boss, psychopat - gentleman. Na pár stranách zhmotnila kubistické dielo, aspoň pre mňa. Páčilo sa mi to, lebo to neurážalo, nebolo lacné, ale studené a hlboké. Preto sa mi páčila.
Neviem, čo by som jej vytkol, asi nič, len intuitívne sťahujem, bo ma niečo núti, asi to, že je to pre náročných! Hehehe!
Či odporúčam? Iste, obohatí!
Stará pani, ktorá toto stvorila, ma decentne šokovala - decentne, lebo ona erotika, bola administratívne krutá. Šedá myš, úradnícka poddajnosť a boss, psychopat - gentleman. Na pár stranách zhmotnila kubistické dielo, aspoň pre mňa. Páčilo sa mi to, lebo to neurážalo, nebolo lacné, ale studené a hlboké. Preto sa mi páčila.
Neviem, čo by som jej vytkol, asi nič, len intuitívne sťahujem, bo ma niečo núti, asi to, že je to pre náročných! Hehehe!
Či odporúčam? Iste, obohatí!
September 18, 2024
The protagonist—in her late 20s, almost divorced, and just out of the UK military post-WWII—is picked up by an older psychiatrist who fucks her on a garden bench a few hours after they meet, and they have a brutal, obsessive affair where he manipulates her into revealing her psyche while he pushes her to further acts of degradation. It was immediately banned on publication in 1966, and wouldn't fly today with the crowd who can't separate fiction and reality...I thought it ruled.
December 1, 2021
Beautifully written but incredibly unpleasant to read.
May 30, 2022
Booooh. Forse sono io. Ma non l'ho capito. Si salva solo qualche parte introspettiva.
November 14, 2024
es un libro muy chulo, me ha gustado un montón, aunque el final es decepcionante. es algo cuanto menos dificil de leer en el sentido de que hiere la sensibilidad con facilidad, pero el hecho de que se escribiera en los 60 es impresionante. lo recomiendo mucho, pero tiene varios trigger warnings (maltrato, violacion…)
November 10, 2025
noch romantisch, noch erotisch
worst of both worlds
worst of both worlds
March 28, 2013
In the wake of Fifty Shades of Grey, it's unsurprising to see a flood of classic erotic titles finding their way back into print and placed on romance shelves inside bookstores. One such novel to enjoy a reprint is Edith Templeton's classic novel, Gordon. Once upon a time, this novel of a headstrong young woman who enters a horrific relationship with a brute was published under a pseudonym and eventually banned in England under the Obscene Publications Act. It's certainly not reading for children, or for the lighthearted. In 2003 the novel was rereleased, with the author named for the first time. This time around, Gordon has enjoyed a much quieter reprint and will most likely be ignored by the scores of women who all so obsessively devoured Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequels.
Far from light reading and with sex scenes that are as brief as they are disturbing, Gordon offers an interesting and believable psychological study into the main characters and their relationship. Dr Richard Gordon is a psychologist and all round brute. He uses his knowledge of psychology to seek out and trap Louisa, a young divorcee living in post-war London. Within an hour, Gordon has conquered Louisa on a stone bench and spends the rest of their relationship trying to break her psychologically and forcing her to become totally dependent on him. There is no warmth or intimacy in their relationship, their unions are about sex (or sex as Gordon desires it,) and control. In fact, Louisa cannot even bring herself to think of Gordon by his first name.
Gordon charms and sometimes forces the young woman to admit her weaknesses as a means of taking control. Lousia is also forced to tell the stories of her past relationships, while Gordon analyses her behaviour and actions. Of particular interest to me was the story of her crush on Derek O'Teague, a weak and pathetic man who managed to fool Louisa into believing that he was someone important--it was only when the crush faded that Louisa realised how stupid and unimportant the man was. (To this, I can relate.) I also found myself fascinated with the hold that Gordon had on Louisa and how he sought to keep it, followed by the revelation that to many women, the brutal Gordon was a weak man who was unable to perform sexually. In Louisa, he has found the perfect woman to bully and someone who considers him to be sexually powerful. In Gordon, Louisa has found a man who she can hide behind. She no longer has to think for herself or take responsibility for her sexuality. Of course, the relationship eventually self-destructs, but the real shock lies within what the future holds for both sides.
Gordon is an uncomfortable, unsettling and sometimes unputdownable exploration of human sexuality. As upsetting as it is fascinating and without a happily-ever-after ending, this is a book for anyone who wants to learn more about sexual politics.
This review previously appeared on my blog, Kathryn's Inbox
Far from light reading and with sex scenes that are as brief as they are disturbing, Gordon offers an interesting and believable psychological study into the main characters and their relationship. Dr Richard Gordon is a psychologist and all round brute. He uses his knowledge of psychology to seek out and trap Louisa, a young divorcee living in post-war London. Within an hour, Gordon has conquered Louisa on a stone bench and spends the rest of their relationship trying to break her psychologically and forcing her to become totally dependent on him. There is no warmth or intimacy in their relationship, their unions are about sex (or sex as Gordon desires it,) and control. In fact, Louisa cannot even bring herself to think of Gordon by his first name.
Gordon charms and sometimes forces the young woman to admit her weaknesses as a means of taking control. Lousia is also forced to tell the stories of her past relationships, while Gordon analyses her behaviour and actions. Of particular interest to me was the story of her crush on Derek O'Teague, a weak and pathetic man who managed to fool Louisa into believing that he was someone important--it was only when the crush faded that Louisa realised how stupid and unimportant the man was. (To this, I can relate.) I also found myself fascinated with the hold that Gordon had on Louisa and how he sought to keep it, followed by the revelation that to many women, the brutal Gordon was a weak man who was unable to perform sexually. In Louisa, he has found the perfect woman to bully and someone who considers him to be sexually powerful. In Gordon, Louisa has found a man who she can hide behind. She no longer has to think for herself or take responsibility for her sexuality. Of course, the relationship eventually self-destructs, but the real shock lies within what the future holds for both sides.
Gordon is an uncomfortable, unsettling and sometimes unputdownable exploration of human sexuality. As upsetting as it is fascinating and without a happily-ever-after ending, this is a book for anyone who wants to learn more about sexual politics.
This review previously appeared on my blog, Kathryn's Inbox
February 8, 2023
The characters were unusual and interesting. But I had the sense that the author strived to make them seem mysterious, where the reader may imagine being at the edge of glimpsing into complexities of their motives -- where really, there was not that much to be understood, or at the minimum, the characters conformed certain cultural stereotypes, and were written in such a pre-schemed fashion as to be 'perfectly' explained by Freudian analyses.
For example, the narrator and protagonist, Louisa, was abandoned by her father as a child, and knew that he was a brilliant professor, far away. She thus as a penchant for old men who seem to be brilliant in some way. It also turns out that she feels most pleasure in being completely submissive to an old man, like Gordon, who can treat her like a slave. We can see that the more extreme the abuse and punishment inflicted upon her by Gordon, the more pleasure she feels, due to her registering this abuse as signaling a number of things. First, he is devoted to and trusts her (he refrains from abusing any other women he's been with to this extent). Second, he will not kill her, so this gives her the space to feel extreme pain not only with the full trust that she will be okay, but also as shaped under the context of sex.
It is interesting to think about this second point. We can imagine Louisa's conscious state as uniquely primed towards certain imaginings, given two bottom line facts that she can trust in: her lover Gordon will not kill her, and she feels a lot of pain right now. Perhaps she has felt much pain in her past from her father's abandoning her; she registered this as punishment to her, even though she was just a helpless child. Now, she can be punished by another man, who is old like her father. This is in effect invoking a type of situation that has been central to her past, that has been her core suffering that's shaped her life. But this type of situation is newly now contextualized under sex, which is essentially about her being most wanted and desired by this man. In general, I think some of our most emotionally poignant experiences are those in which old, haunting types of situations, which have been central or salient to us in some way, come up under new contexts, which "solve" or "heal" the reason for suffering of that old type of situation.
But I think we may be invited to such thought by any book on psychoanalytic theory - this novel does not uniquely invite this thought. I wish the characters were more complex, and invited us to think beyond the narratives that are relatively well-established in our culture by the influence of psychoanalytic thought. If one is looking for an absorbing read that could aid in understanding central claims of the psychoanalytic tradition, this would serve that purpose.
For example, the narrator and protagonist, Louisa, was abandoned by her father as a child, and knew that he was a brilliant professor, far away. She thus as a penchant for old men who seem to be brilliant in some way. It also turns out that she feels most pleasure in being completely submissive to an old man, like Gordon, who can treat her like a slave. We can see that the more extreme the abuse and punishment inflicted upon her by Gordon, the more pleasure she feels, due to her registering this abuse as signaling a number of things. First, he is devoted to and trusts her (he refrains from abusing any other women he's been with to this extent). Second, he will not kill her, so this gives her the space to feel extreme pain not only with the full trust that she will be okay, but also as shaped under the context of sex.
It is interesting to think about this second point. We can imagine Louisa's conscious state as uniquely primed towards certain imaginings, given two bottom line facts that she can trust in: her lover Gordon will not kill her, and she feels a lot of pain right now. Perhaps she has felt much pain in her past from her father's abandoning her; she registered this as punishment to her, even though she was just a helpless child. Now, she can be punished by another man, who is old like her father. This is in effect invoking a type of situation that has been central to her past, that has been her core suffering that's shaped her life. But this type of situation is newly now contextualized under sex, which is essentially about her being most wanted and desired by this man. In general, I think some of our most emotionally poignant experiences are those in which old, haunting types of situations, which have been central or salient to us in some way, come up under new contexts, which "solve" or "heal" the reason for suffering of that old type of situation.
But I think we may be invited to such thought by any book on psychoanalytic theory - this novel does not uniquely invite this thought. I wish the characters were more complex, and invited us to think beyond the narratives that are relatively well-established in our culture by the influence of psychoanalytic thought. If one is looking for an absorbing read that could aid in understanding central claims of the psychoanalytic tradition, this would serve that purpose.
August 26, 2012
This novel is intriguing - it was banned in England for indecency when it was published in 1966, which of course made it an instant hit, published legitimately in France and pirated all over the world. Now it has been re-published as a classic of erotica in the the wake of 50 Shades (with which, in my opinion, it has absolutely no business to be compared). Of course, the indecent bits are tame by today's standards (well, the sexual descriptions, anyhow - for me the real cruelty lay in the humiliation and mind games the hero plays with the heroine), but this is a thought-provoking novel that explores a love affair marked by harshness and cruelty but quite manifestly obsessive, requited passion. I'm looking for words that circumvent the fashionable 'dominance and submission', as this is no game with rules that the protagonists are playing. The author is essentially describing what she sees as 'sex for grown-ups' - after the intensity and obsession of this affair, normal passion and mutual kindness are just not enough for our toughened up heroine.
It is not a charming, fluffy read, and it is not for everyone, I feel sure. It is the antithesis of romantic, yet one cannot help but believe that it is a love story, of a peculiarly alienating kind. Edith Templeton is an unjustly forgotten author (or has been until now) - this novel, gruelling though one might find it, is a magnificent piece of writing.
Here is my full review on Vulpes Libris:
http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/201...
It is not a charming, fluffy read, and it is not for everyone, I feel sure. It is the antithesis of romantic, yet one cannot help but believe that it is a love story, of a peculiarly alienating kind. Edith Templeton is an unjustly forgotten author (or has been until now) - this novel, gruelling though one might find it, is a magnificent piece of writing.
Here is my full review on Vulpes Libris:
http://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/201...
October 11, 2015
What happens when two people who have totally unhealthy relationships with sex meet? I enjoyed this book for a few reasons, but mostly because of its honesty. Is Gordon a cruel and abusive bastard? Most definitely, but Louisa is clearly so turned about on what kind of attention is healthy attention from men, that I can absolutely understand why she falls for him. People end up in these kinds of relationships all the time for countless reasons, reasons I don't understand, but I did appreciate this as a stark example of how complicated and confusing emotionally dependent, abusive relationships can be.
Read
February 27, 2012I picked up this book at s local library thrift sale because the cover caught my eye and it sat unread for months. I could have kicked myself for not picking it up sooner. This book is brilliantly written and had such a profound effect on me that I thought about it weeks after I finished it. It's beautiful and disturbing at the same time.
July 19, 2020
Felt like a monkey in the ruined city watching Kaa writhing just before suppertime. Knowing I'm dinner. Psychologically amazing. Style. Yes. Enlightening. Yes. And depressing. I have a hard time with abuse; physical, verbal or emotional. This came highly recommended. I can understand why, but not something I can recommend.
Read
January 28, 2021Livro #4 de 2021: Foi o meu E do #invErnoqb das #mariajoaocovas e #mariajoaodiogo e foi o primeiro livro da IV edição do livro secreto, mas infelizmente não consegui gostar. Nem foi por causa de ser um romance erótico, mas porque achei os diálogos fracos e sem sentido, a escrita insonsa e a trama inexistente. Não recomendo e tive pena de não ter gostado.
September 22, 2019
I think we can all agree that psychoanalysts are like, legally required to be sexual sadists, so nothing too shocking here.
Daddy Issues is a layman’s term in 2K19, but go Edith for articulating the dom/sub psychosexual dynamic before it was en Vogue.
Daddy Issues is a layman’s term in 2K19, but go Edith for articulating the dom/sub psychosexual dynamic before it was en Vogue.
May 1, 2014
Disturbing and yet compelling. Read in a few hours
June 11, 2012
I read this in one sitting, I couldn't put it down!
November 18, 2023
Since I never read erotic fiction, maybe I'm going out on a limb if I say that this doesn't qualify as erotic fiction. What I mean is that it's not titillating and its rather clinical descriptions of monotonous sexual acts, sometimes consensual, sometimes not, are hardly likely to lead to arousal. The year is 1946 and Louisa, a 28 years old woman who has walked out on her husband, seemingly because she found sex with him boring, is waiting for her divorce to come through. One evening a man picks her up in a bar and within the hour penetrates her on a garden bench. A relationship ensues, fairly normal except when it is not. Richard Gordon is a psychiatrist, and forces Louisa to confront a number of unpleasant truths about herself: that she grew her hair long as a symbol of her independence from her mother, with whom she had a highly ambivalent rapport; that her infatuation with a seedy and dishonest actor stems from her fascination with the father who abandoned her; that she played cruel games with her husband once she grew dissatisfied with him in bed. Why Gordon chose Louisa for a "free" course of analysis remains unclear. Louisa occasionally rebels against his love-making, which never includes kisses or foreplay, but she never makes a serious attempt to put an end to the relationship, let alone report him. In other respects, their relationship is "normal". He takes her out to nice restaurants and introduces her to some of his friends. He can be very funny and often makes her laugh by impersonating a curmudgeonly old man in public. Out of the blue he tells her that they must stop seeing each other. Years later, Louisa, by then remarried, discovers that Gordon ended up taking his own life. She travels to London to seek explanations from a senior analyst Gordon had often mentioned, and ends up sleeping with him too. What I enjoyed most is the baffled tone with which Louisa describes her willingness to stay in this kinky relationship, but I expected something more from the author of "Summer in the Country".
November 23, 2020
I was more than a little surprised when I came across this book in a book exchange at the La Paz Yacht Club. There were lots of books on the shelves there; I don’t know what made me pick it up with its nondescript plain green cover, completely nondescript title, and a back cover that only gave praise for the author’s other works. The description in the jacket got me immediately, though. I’m paraphrasing here…”…she was disturbed that he had taken her within the hour that they had met…her complete submission to him was what she’d always longed for but didn’t realize…”. I think I may have even shut the book a bit and looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was there while I blushed.
I stashed it away and read it cover to cover over the course of my bus ride and 3 flights from La Paz to Curacao. It could have been steamier, for sure. It wasn’t Story of O, but I enjoyed it in the way I imagine men enjoy looking at a beautiful woman partially clothed rather than fully naked. Know whatimean?
I stashed it away and read it cover to cover over the course of my bus ride and 3 flights from La Paz to Curacao. It could have been steamier, for sure. It wasn’t Story of O, but I enjoyed it in the way I imagine men enjoy looking at a beautiful woman partially clothed rather than fully naked. Know whatimean?
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