What do you think?
Rate this book
Candida Royalle and the Sexual Revolution: A History from Below
A portrait of an indelible twentieth-century American life―and a wholly new take on the pleasures and dangers of the so-called sexual revolution. Whether in front of the camera or behind it, Candice Vadala (1950–2015) understood herself both as an artist and entrepreneur. As Candida Royalle―underground actress, porn star, producer of adult content, and staunch feminist―she made a business of pleasure, her life and work crystalizing the broader hedonistic turn in American life in the second half of the twentieth century. Drawing extensively from never-before-studied diaries, letters, photographs, films, and art documenting Royalle’s private and professional life, historian Jane Kamensky expands and explodes the conventions of biography. Readers witness the lives of ordinary women from the inside-out during a period of seismic change, including the postwar restructuring of gender roles, the growing popularity of psychoanalysis, and the mass-marketing of pornography. Written with cinematic verve, Candida Royalle and the Sexual Revolution evocatively examines the rise and ambiguous successes of a heroine who broke the mold and was herself broken in turn. 51 illustrations
560 pages, Paperback
Published March 4, 2025
29 people are currently reading
3344 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 2, 2024
The world needs more porn star biographies! I'm deeply pleased to see Candida Royalle receive the full academic treatment. She lived an historically significant life during a consequential era, and was furthermore a trailblazing feminist who improved adult film to get her point across. Perhaps most miraculous of all, she kept vivid diaries from youth until death. It's a biographer's dream to have access to such records and, overall, Kamensky, makes good use of the source material.
As others have noticed, however, it does often seem Kamensky is displeased to have Ms. Royalle as her subject. There's rarely a hint of admiration for Candida and I would describe the overall tone as snide. I understand Candida Royalle was a porn actress and not Susan B. Anthony, but still — she deserves respect. It wouldn't kill the Harvard professor to openly celebrate an adult film's accomplishments.
Even the subtitle, "A History from Below," suggests this is a story of grime and moral depravity. Certainly the Sexual Revolution was not perfect, and neither was Candida. But her enduring legacy is centered around a feminist ambition to improve the lives of sex workers and to deliver content that celebrated women. It's an exceedingly uplifting story, but often told in the style of dirty gossip.
The potential benefit of having a porn skeptic write Candida Royalle's biography is, perhaps, that we do see a side of the Sexual Revolution that may be glossed over in other texts. I did not realize how much overlap there was in porn criticism between the evangelicals and feminists, for example. Arguably even Royalle was among porn's major critics, which is what inspired her to create more empowered adult content. Depending on who you ask, this era was a "best of times" or "worst of times" situation, and the book does a good job of showcasing a non-preachy perspective on the bad stuff. And some of the good, too.
To be clear, opinions are largely absent. There's between-the-lines snobbery that informs the overall tone, but Kamensky mostly keeps out of it. She lets the facts—the facts she selects, anyway—speak for themselves. Almost certainly it's not the biography Royalle herself would have written, but that does not mean it's bad or illegitimate perspective on history.
Kamensky's conclusion sounds a lot like "well, this was a life... if anybody actually cares." She also points out that Candida's diaries and archival content are publicly accessible if anyone else would like to give them a look and make their own assessments.
I do hope there will be more scholarly writing on Candida, and others like her from the Sexual Revolution. Put Candida's diaries in the hands of someone with more understanding of adult entertainment, and I think we'd have a very different book — one that appropriately admires the subject material. But then that too would likely have a one-sided slant.
In the end, we do need both perspectives — especially when analyzing the life of Candida Royalle, who was multi-faceted and multi-opinionated on pornography. This book isn't perfect, but it's a million times better than no book at all. I had a great time reading it.
As others have noticed, however, it does often seem Kamensky is displeased to have Ms. Royalle as her subject. There's rarely a hint of admiration for Candida and I would describe the overall tone as snide. I understand Candida Royalle was a porn actress and not Susan B. Anthony, but still — she deserves respect. It wouldn't kill the Harvard professor to openly celebrate an adult film's accomplishments.
Even the subtitle, "A History from Below," suggests this is a story of grime and moral depravity. Certainly the Sexual Revolution was not perfect, and neither was Candida. But her enduring legacy is centered around a feminist ambition to improve the lives of sex workers and to deliver content that celebrated women. It's an exceedingly uplifting story, but often told in the style of dirty gossip.
The potential benefit of having a porn skeptic write Candida Royalle's biography is, perhaps, that we do see a side of the Sexual Revolution that may be glossed over in other texts. I did not realize how much overlap there was in porn criticism between the evangelicals and feminists, for example. Arguably even Royalle was among porn's major critics, which is what inspired her to create more empowered adult content. Depending on who you ask, this era was a "best of times" or "worst of times" situation, and the book does a good job of showcasing a non-preachy perspective on the bad stuff. And some of the good, too.
To be clear, opinions are largely absent. There's between-the-lines snobbery that informs the overall tone, but Kamensky mostly keeps out of it. She lets the facts—the facts she selects, anyway—speak for themselves. Almost certainly it's not the biography Royalle herself would have written, but that does not mean it's bad or illegitimate perspective on history.
Kamensky's conclusion sounds a lot like "well, this was a life... if anybody actually cares." She also points out that Candida's diaries and archival content are publicly accessible if anyone else would like to give them a look and make their own assessments.
I do hope there will be more scholarly writing on Candida, and others like her from the Sexual Revolution. Put Candida's diaries in the hands of someone with more understanding of adult entertainment, and I think we'd have a very different book — one that appropriately admires the subject material. But then that too would likely have a one-sided slant.
In the end, we do need both perspectives — especially when analyzing the life of Candida Royalle, who was multi-faceted and multi-opinionated on pornography. This book isn't perfect, but it's a million times better than no book at all. I had a great time reading it.
March 17, 2024
Poor Candida Royalle. She meticulously kept an archive of her life in order to be remembered accurately, but her biographer - though Harvard historian - was porn negative so Candida never got a fair shot. It’s unclear to me why someone with no background in sexuality studies got to write this book, and even brags about her lack of qualifications.
The driving question the biographer asks is if Royalle’s feminist porn project has been successful. Of course that answer can never be yes, too much pressure on one set of shoulders. Moreover, her contributions will always fall short if the perspective is that permissive sex is in itself always-already (at least a bit) icky. On the same page where she mentions that Candida had her first orgasms, Kamensky concludes that Candida “sounds so lonely and so sad, finding little solace in joyless sex”.
Kamensky mixes general descriptions of era and milieu with the diaries of Royalle, which creates a misleading air of objectivity. It also means that she measures Candida against the norms of the majority and the mainstream.
Despite the endnotes, this is not an academic book, Kamensky’s writing is a mixture of interpretation and speculation. Her tone is rejective from the get-go, and she constantly foreshadows failure of living up to a young girl’s dreams. Overemphasizing abuse and drug use, Kamensky allows little agency for Candida, whose judgement she calls impaired. All in all my verdict is firm: this is not the feminist book Royalle deserved.
The driving question the biographer asks is if Royalle’s feminist porn project has been successful. Of course that answer can never be yes, too much pressure on one set of shoulders. Moreover, her contributions will always fall short if the perspective is that permissive sex is in itself always-already (at least a bit) icky. On the same page where she mentions that Candida had her first orgasms, Kamensky concludes that Candida “sounds so lonely and so sad, finding little solace in joyless sex”.
Kamensky mixes general descriptions of era and milieu with the diaries of Royalle, which creates a misleading air of objectivity. It also means that she measures Candida against the norms of the majority and the mainstream.
Despite the endnotes, this is not an academic book, Kamensky’s writing is a mixture of interpretation and speculation. Her tone is rejective from the get-go, and she constantly foreshadows failure of living up to a young girl’s dreams. Overemphasizing abuse and drug use, Kamensky allows little agency for Candida, whose judgement she calls impaired. All in all my verdict is firm: this is not the feminist book Royalle deserved.
April 1, 2024
This is half of a great book. The debate among feminists over the impact of pornography is fascinating to read about since it involves some of the great talkers and thinkers of our time. This debate on the so-called "sex wars" is wrapped into a history of the sexual revolution that took place in the last decades of the 20th century. All of it is compelling.
But...
The author chooses to devote the other half of the book on an exhaustive biography of the life of one Candice Vadala, who made her name as Candida Royalle in acting and making porn films and speaking on the front lines of the revolution. Opinions may vary on her role in all this. She definitely was a player, but far too much time is spent on her personal life, and after a while, she gets to drag down the proceedings. I wanted more on colorful personalities like Susie Bright or Annie Sprinkle, who speak eloquently on these events and times.
Yes, you should read this book because it is about an underreported subject. I just wish it had been more encompassing and less about one person.
But...
The author chooses to devote the other half of the book on an exhaustive biography of the life of one Candice Vadala, who made her name as Candida Royalle in acting and making porn films and speaking on the front lines of the revolution. Opinions may vary on her role in all this. She definitely was a player, but far too much time is spent on her personal life, and after a while, she gets to drag down the proceedings. I wanted more on colorful personalities like Susie Bright or Annie Sprinkle, who speak eloquently on these events and times.
Yes, you should read this book because it is about an underreported subject. I just wish it had been more encompassing and less about one person.
April 2, 2024
Un buen día de septiembre de 2015, a Jane Kamensky, directora en ese momento de la Biblioteca Schlesinger de Harvard centrada en la historia de las mujeres de Estados Unidos, le llamó la atención un obituario de TheNew York Times. Trataba sobre una desconocida actriz porno de segunda fila que había acabado montando su propia productora de cine para adultos en cuyo primer lanzamiento no había una sola escena en la que un hombre eyaculara en la cara de una mujer para despedirse inmediatamente después: "Gracias y hasta luego, señora".
¿Quién era esa Candida Royalle fallecida de cáncer de ovario con solo 64 años que escapó de una industria misógina y sórdida, plagada de drogas y abusos, para defender un "porno ilustrado" y atento al deseo de las mujeres y había peleado con las feministas de la Women Against Pornography en los 80? ¿No sería fantástico que hubiera dejado un archivo de su vida? Increíblemente así era. Y se trataba de un archivo extraordinario.
Seguir leyendo la reseña, que incluye entrevista con la autora, aquí.
https://www.elmundo.es/papel/cultura/...
¿Quién era esa Candida Royalle fallecida de cáncer de ovario con solo 64 años que escapó de una industria misógina y sórdida, plagada de drogas y abusos, para defender un "porno ilustrado" y atento al deseo de las mujeres y había peleado con las feministas de la Women Against Pornography en los 80? ¿No sería fantástico que hubiera dejado un archivo de su vida? Increíblemente así era. Y se trataba de un archivo extraordinario.
Seguir leyendo la reseña, que incluye entrevista con la autora, aquí.
https://www.elmundo.es/papel/cultura/...
February 18, 2025
This was very interesting! I enjoyed learning about her life journey. I wish that the sort of adult films she made (classy, atmospheric, centered around women’s pleasure) had become more popular, although I guess in recent years they sort of have, just in book form, with series like ACOTAR and the Empyrean.
April 15, 2024
Candice Vadala/Candida Royalle definitely has an interesting story, but I don't quite agree with all the cultural analysis offered by Kamensky. For one thing, the book is a little too fond of Andrea Dworkin quotes. Though this is a look at several key moments in the "sexual revolution" and secondwave feminism, it is definitely with a heterosexual lens. And while one can't include everything and still have it also be a biography of one woman who lived through it, the book keeps a bit of distance from any queerness in Candice's life. Still, it was interesting enough to keep reading, even if the book was a bit overlong.
January 17, 2025
This book had been languishing on my to-read pile until my partner finally chose the Leftovers from our shows-we-should-have-never-watched list, which had the scene-stealing Emily Meade in a bit part, which reminded me of the engrossing Deuce (in which Meade put an unforgettable turn as a porn star), which in turn reminded me of this book as the second unforgettable performance in the series by Maggie Gyllenhaal was as Candy, a character loosely modelled on Royalle, so I packed the book for a beach long weekend read, and yes, that is exactly how my brain works.
The first thing to note is that loose was very much the modelling for Simon and Pelecanos in writing the Deuce. Their Candy was a streetwalker who finds art through porn. Kamensky's book reveals a very different story - a New York survivor who immerses herself in the queer and alternative theatre scene in San Franscisco, and turns to porn as her theatre career falters and her heroin habit grows, Royalle brought her past to porn, and was certainly not a creation of it.
Kamensky weaves Royalle's story alongside social, economic and political analysis of the sweeping years between the 1960s and the 2010s. As a historian who lived through the "feminist sex wars"of the 1980s and 1990s and now teaches this to bewildered, arch Gen Zs, she is both invested in how ferocious these debates became and capable of seeing, in hindsight, how stupid and ultimately useless it all was. This is a perspective I could empathise with, including the wincing at how much something that mattered so much might now seem so ... quaint.
Kamesky had great material to work with. Royalle kept a daily diary her whole life, and this archive is now safely stored in a library, providing the primary material for the book.
Royalle I was also aware of as a 1990s figure, an icon frequently held up by the sex positive feminists (of which I was one) who wanted to prove that sexuality could have feminist expression, often simplified to feminist porn was possible. This version of Royalle appears in the book, but often as a fragile shell - a lot of bravado, backed underneath by a failing business model, swept up in the general whirlwind of the end of the era of profitable pornography in the face of the internet. Many aspects of Royalle's life that Kamensky has brought out challenge the simplistic narratives. A sexually abuse, pedophiliac father, clear lifelong anguish from her abandonment as a baby by her teenage mother, fall all to neatly into stereotypes of traumatised sex workers. Royalle refused to either erase her trauma or her efforts to be more than it, nor to bow to those who then argued that it negated her capacity to choose her own life. While Kamensky at times is clearly frustrated by the ego of her subject, she draws with great respect on the enormity of what she achieved - not only a life lived on her own terms, but one that demanded to try creation of a safer space.
In leaving the mainstream porn industry, Royalle did several significant things. Firstly, she built and celebrated a community of women who demanded a space for ethical sexually explicit entertainment, and refused to sit in the boxes porn had created for them. These women, which included Annie Sprinkle, continued to meet regularly throughout Royalle's life, and organised her funeral and celebrated her life. More than any specific initiative, this community feels like a huge achievement in an industry designed to disempower and marginalise women.
Secondly, Royalle created safe sex initiatives and programs on set for her performers, setting a total ban on sex without condoms, insisting on - and paying for - regular testing of her performers and providing safe sex education resources on set, and then throughout the industry. She was the first producer to do this, and was out of step with practice for some time until others caught up. It is clear in the book that this comes through her ongoing participation in queer circles, and the devastating loss of so many of her oldest friends in the pandemic. But at time when she is financially struggling, it more than any other component, stands for her ethical centre and willingness to model a different way of doing business. It saved lives. She also made films showing safe sex techniques. (It is notable that Deuce omits entirely the community orientation of Royalle, and how much everything she did was with others in some way or another)
The book is slow and was worth savouring. There is a pathos to it, which is mirrored in Royalle's own diary as porn slips into an ever-escalating violence and mock realism, while also becoming less and less lucrative for the performers involved. Her own videos, based in couples scenarios and arthouse shots, have proven to have long lives - contrasting sharply with the novelty drive of the rest of the industry - but too late to matter. But the book also celebrates her achievements as a beacon for a different way, a woman who provides still evidence, that this was neither inevitable nor what most women wanted.
The first thing to note is that loose was very much the modelling for Simon and Pelecanos in writing the Deuce. Their Candy was a streetwalker who finds art through porn. Kamensky's book reveals a very different story - a New York survivor who immerses herself in the queer and alternative theatre scene in San Franscisco, and turns to porn as her theatre career falters and her heroin habit grows, Royalle brought her past to porn, and was certainly not a creation of it.
Kamensky weaves Royalle's story alongside social, economic and political analysis of the sweeping years between the 1960s and the 2010s. As a historian who lived through the "feminist sex wars"of the 1980s and 1990s and now teaches this to bewildered, arch Gen Zs, she is both invested in how ferocious these debates became and capable of seeing, in hindsight, how stupid and ultimately useless it all was. This is a perspective I could empathise with, including the wincing at how much something that mattered so much might now seem so ... quaint.
Kamesky had great material to work with. Royalle kept a daily diary her whole life, and this archive is now safely stored in a library, providing the primary material for the book.
Royalle I was also aware of as a 1990s figure, an icon frequently held up by the sex positive feminists (of which I was one) who wanted to prove that sexuality could have feminist expression, often simplified to feminist porn was possible. This version of Royalle appears in the book, but often as a fragile shell - a lot of bravado, backed underneath by a failing business model, swept up in the general whirlwind of the end of the era of profitable pornography in the face of the internet. Many aspects of Royalle's life that Kamensky has brought out challenge the simplistic narratives. A sexually abuse, pedophiliac father, clear lifelong anguish from her abandonment as a baby by her teenage mother, fall all to neatly into stereotypes of traumatised sex workers. Royalle refused to either erase her trauma or her efforts to be more than it, nor to bow to those who then argued that it negated her capacity to choose her own life. While Kamensky at times is clearly frustrated by the ego of her subject, she draws with great respect on the enormity of what she achieved - not only a life lived on her own terms, but one that demanded to try creation of a safer space.
In leaving the mainstream porn industry, Royalle did several significant things. Firstly, she built and celebrated a community of women who demanded a space for ethical sexually explicit entertainment, and refused to sit in the boxes porn had created for them. These women, which included Annie Sprinkle, continued to meet regularly throughout Royalle's life, and organised her funeral and celebrated her life. More than any specific initiative, this community feels like a huge achievement in an industry designed to disempower and marginalise women.
Secondly, Royalle created safe sex initiatives and programs on set for her performers, setting a total ban on sex without condoms, insisting on - and paying for - regular testing of her performers and providing safe sex education resources on set, and then throughout the industry. She was the first producer to do this, and was out of step with practice for some time until others caught up. It is clear in the book that this comes through her ongoing participation in queer circles, and the devastating loss of so many of her oldest friends in the pandemic. But at time when she is financially struggling, it more than any other component, stands for her ethical centre and willingness to model a different way of doing business. It saved lives. She also made films showing safe sex techniques. (It is notable that Deuce omits entirely the community orientation of Royalle, and how much everything she did was with others in some way or another)
The book is slow and was worth savouring. There is a pathos to it, which is mirrored in Royalle's own diary as porn slips into an ever-escalating violence and mock realism, while also becoming less and less lucrative for the performers involved. Her own videos, based in couples scenarios and arthouse shots, have proven to have long lives - contrasting sharply with the novelty drive of the rest of the industry - but too late to matter. But the book also celebrates her achievements as a beacon for a different way, a woman who provides still evidence, that this was neither inevitable nor what most women wanted.
June 2, 2024
At the end of scholar Jane Kamensky's incredibly sourced and engrossing biography of an adult film star/feminist activist whom I'd never heard of until the Times reviewed it a couple of months ago, she mentions someone had suggested she title the book From Victim to Victor. Wouldn't work, Kamensky says. All her life, Candice Vadala, aka Candida Royalle, was both.
I think she's right. Kamensky's book tells the story of Candice's birth, family struggles and scandals, abandonments and abuses, all the way through her career in an adult performing world reeking of misogyny and oppression yet somehow still dovetailing with the values and practices of the Free Love movement and the overall Sexual Revolution. Then, Candice moves from the world of pornagraphy performer to pornography defender, writer of, director of, advocate for. One can argue her overall mission was not a success. But one cannot argue she didn't leave a legacy, and one that, I think we're to understand, still has a positive ripple effect today.
Kamensky relies heavily on Candice's diaries--she kept them pretty much all through her life--and the traditional tools of the biographer and historian, such as contemporary media, scholarship, interviews and her own critical understanding of the era and issues. With her subject's story, Kamensky also tells the story of the country's tortured and often conflicting values and battles over things like sexual freedom, feminist values, pornography itself and the other seeds germinating (one might say "festering") in the middle of the twentieth century and which would eventually bloom into today's culture wars.
The end of the book was especially hard to read--Candice had not nearly enough to show for her life's works, and, poor choices aside, her death was a vicious, physically arduous and, I'm sure, costly way to go. Taken as a whole, though, I saw a woman who was dealt a tough hand, made bad and smart decisions, "always looked inward" as Kamensky notes, and remained a bright and radiant example of character and value up until her very end.
The book is peppered with snapshots, facsimiles of diary pages, Candice's drawings and other such things. I can only imagine what a charge it must have been to plumb the sheer volume of Candice's papers. Kamensky compares it to the plot of From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and hearing that, I'm quite jealous. But in Kamensky's hands, the papers and correspondence are turned into a mediation not just of a singular character, however remarkable. They're a meditation on this country's feminist and sexual values--where we were and how we got where we are today.
I think she's right. Kamensky's book tells the story of Candice's birth, family struggles and scandals, abandonments and abuses, all the way through her career in an adult performing world reeking of misogyny and oppression yet somehow still dovetailing with the values and practices of the Free Love movement and the overall Sexual Revolution. Then, Candice moves from the world of pornagraphy performer to pornography defender, writer of, director of, advocate for. One can argue her overall mission was not a success. But one cannot argue she didn't leave a legacy, and one that, I think we're to understand, still has a positive ripple effect today.
Kamensky relies heavily on Candice's diaries--she kept them pretty much all through her life--and the traditional tools of the biographer and historian, such as contemporary media, scholarship, interviews and her own critical understanding of the era and issues. With her subject's story, Kamensky also tells the story of the country's tortured and often conflicting values and battles over things like sexual freedom, feminist values, pornography itself and the other seeds germinating (one might say "festering") in the middle of the twentieth century and which would eventually bloom into today's culture wars.
The end of the book was especially hard to read--Candice had not nearly enough to show for her life's works, and, poor choices aside, her death was a vicious, physically arduous and, I'm sure, costly way to go. Taken as a whole, though, I saw a woman who was dealt a tough hand, made bad and smart decisions, "always looked inward" as Kamensky notes, and remained a bright and radiant example of character and value up until her very end.
The book is peppered with snapshots, facsimiles of diary pages, Candice's drawings and other such things. I can only imagine what a charge it must have been to plumb the sheer volume of Candice's papers. Kamensky compares it to the plot of From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and hearing that, I'm quite jealous. But in Kamensky's hands, the papers and correspondence are turned into a mediation not just of a singular character, however remarkable. They're a meditation on this country's feminist and sexual values--where we were and how we got where we are today.
March 28, 2025
This book successfully gives a relevant and relative portrait of someone in an industry indulged in by millions that remains a fringe phenomenon. Candida Royalle (née Vadala) survived an insecure New York upbringing to find a freedom in 1960s and 70s San Francisco, a tolerant city that allowed the adult industry in its various aspects to operate.
Royalle graduated from occasional escorting and nude modelling to adult films. Yet she didn't stay that long in the industry, partly because of its usurious nature and partly due to her feminist sympathies, a belief that cinematic sex should be sensual and consensual rather than a focus of male fantasies of dominance, brusque penetrations, and "money/meat shots." Hence, Femme Productions, her effort to make sex more female sensitive, daresay educational. She did not become rich doing this, but gained respect from sexual educators and a thoughtful public. Kamensky, who had access to Royalle's personal papers, details this well and, especially, puts Royalle's life and career in the context of a sexual revolution that began in the 60s and has not yet ended. Pro- and anti- porn activists are well-described in this book, as are the dynamics and difficulties involving Femme Productions. Perhaps a minor weakness might be a lack of detail as to Royalle's porn film career: the films themselves, her relationships with co-stars, directors, etc. In sum, a worthwhile work on a person and an era.
Royalle graduated from occasional escorting and nude modelling to adult films. Yet she didn't stay that long in the industry, partly because of its usurious nature and partly due to her feminist sympathies, a belief that cinematic sex should be sensual and consensual rather than a focus of male fantasies of dominance, brusque penetrations, and "money/meat shots." Hence, Femme Productions, her effort to make sex more female sensitive, daresay educational. She did not become rich doing this, but gained respect from sexual educators and a thoughtful public. Kamensky, who had access to Royalle's personal papers, details this well and, especially, puts Royalle's life and career in the context of a sexual revolution that began in the 60s and has not yet ended. Pro- and anti- porn activists are well-described in this book, as are the dynamics and difficulties involving Femme Productions. Perhaps a minor weakness might be a lack of detail as to Royalle's porn film career: the films themselves, her relationships with co-stars, directors, etc. In sum, a worthwhile work on a person and an era.
June 28, 2024
A remarkable multi-level journey. Using the diaries of a unique adult industry (porn) actor, writer, director and producer to recreate the life of Candid Royalle, Prof. Kamensky also brings the readers though the cultural revolution from the 1950s through the second decade of the second millennium. It is beautifully written and exhaustively researched. BTW, Kamensky's credentials as a historian and author are outstanding. She is a professor emerita of history at Harvard University and the President of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
The tale of Candice Vadala's (nom de porn - Candida Royalle) life is heartbreaking and inspiring. She generated diaries from her adolescence to her untimely death by cancer at 65. While her external life story is more than compelling enough to make a great book, Vadala's internal journey to understand herself and her place in society makes this book truly extraordinary. Kamensky is both gentle and unflinching in her guidebook through Vadala's life and times.
It is so unusual to have a book about anything (or anyone) associated with pornography not be polemical. This is a must read for readers who love contemporary biography, those interested in the cultural and sexual revolution from the post-war America to today, and especially those interested in getting an unbiased understanding of the adult industry. It is a great book.
The tale of Candice Vadala's (nom de porn - Candida Royalle) life is heartbreaking and inspiring. She generated diaries from her adolescence to her untimely death by cancer at 65. While her external life story is more than compelling enough to make a great book, Vadala's internal journey to understand herself and her place in society makes this book truly extraordinary. Kamensky is both gentle and unflinching in her guidebook through Vadala's life and times.
It is so unusual to have a book about anything (or anyone) associated with pornography not be polemical. This is a must read for readers who love contemporary biography, those interested in the cultural and sexual revolution from the post-war America to today, and especially those interested in getting an unbiased understanding of the adult industry. It is a great book.
July 12, 2024
I was so so excited to read this book...and all I can say is...um...I was not terribly impressed. I mean, Kamensky is a good writer I take it...But I was actually thoroughly bored here. I'm just not sure this is the definitive book on Royalle. Yes, the author had access to her papers but if my takeaway from this is Royalle just wanted a nice quaint life and waited for her prince charming to appear, I think I'll pass...I kinda wanted to know more about her porn life with the likes of Annie Sprinkle, Gloria Leonard and all those true pioneers..Instead, we get brief glimpses of that time and fast forward to how much Femme Productions is in the red...again...
To hear about her early life in NY is a good start but it kinda tanks after that. The book is just all over the place and in the end is just depressing rather than a cautionary tale or a story of hope. Royalle comes across as vapid and self centered at times. Maybe she was? I don't know...Perhaps the author should have edited some of the diary stuff and maybe quote some of the characters in the play that was Royalle's life...Rather we get reports on her STIs, who she's dating and her desire to be rich...She was quite a character, just not sure we get that from this book. Damn, what a shame...
To hear about her early life in NY is a good start but it kinda tanks after that. The book is just all over the place and in the end is just depressing rather than a cautionary tale or a story of hope. Royalle comes across as vapid and self centered at times. Maybe she was? I don't know...Perhaps the author should have edited some of the diary stuff and maybe quote some of the characters in the play that was Royalle's life...Rather we get reports on her STIs, who she's dating and her desire to be rich...She was quite a character, just not sure we get that from this book. Damn, what a shame...
March 24, 2024
Superb and meticulously researched book. Kamensky had me rooting for Candice the whole way. She had me thinking about the porn wars like I never had. I wholeheartedly disagree with the previous reviewer’s comment that Kamensky is anti-porn. She makes it pretty obvious that she is not with Dworkin or MacKinnon. To the other commentor I say, why would you let one reviewer’s comment deprive you of this magnificent book. Check it out for yourself or check it out of the library if you don’t want to drop $35. This is my living history. Grateful to the author for this book. Candice would have been thrilled.
May 21, 2024
I had become aware of Candida Royalle from a Men's Health article from the 2000s: tips which indicate a woman is a great lover. A woman of beauty and promise, Candida didn't achieve monetary success. A shame, really, because she had prosperous ideas. She cast her ideas to the wrong audience. Perhaps if she had lived in Europe she might have experienced wealth. But American tastes weren't sophisticated enough for her presentations. She had bought a charming cottage on the East Coast and planned to spend her last decades there. Then, ovarian cancer arrived. It saddens me that a woman with a fertile creativity received so little.
I admire Miss Royalle.
I admire Miss Royalle.
March 31, 2024
This is the biography of Candida Royalle. It follows Candice's story from her troubled childhood, to her work in the porn industry, and through her death. The author takes the details of her story from Candice's own written journals, which were extensive. It lets you dive deep into her personality as someone who struggled with how to get the industry that was her life, the respect she believed it deserved. Very well written. Sometimes biographies can be slow to read and dry, and this one really tells a story. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 20, 2024
Kamensky did a good job on both the research and maintaining an interesting story that captured the contours of the change in view toward sexual morays in the US. Royalle's story was quintessential 60's / 70's baby boomer (idealized - of course she had a very unique life experience yet her story sort of encompasses this generation). While I doubt that Femme Productions was little more than a marketing tool and didn't have quite as large a social footprint as Kamensky makes it out to be, it was an interesting story line that again fit in with its time.
June 18, 2024
This is as much a modern American history book as it is a biography of Candida Royalle. While it's long, I found myself engaged thoroughly in this book, particularly at the parallels of Candice's life to the current times of the moment. It got me to think about adult films and those who made them in a much different light. This book will not be for everyone but I really liked it and learned from it.
August 12, 2024
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I had never heard of Candida Royalle, but I’m sure I have seen her on HBO and other shows that she did interviews for since I would’ve been in the prime target market for those shows when I was a young adult. I’m glad the author was able to do something with all of Candida’s journals and also had the history of what was going on in the world and industry at the same time. I was sad that Candida didn’t get the family she ultimately wanted.
November 4, 2025
I was very impressed by this!! Some reviews here made me skeptical of the author’s treatment of Candice before starting, but frankly, they missed the mark. This is a fair and vital examination of the movement. It offers a unique perspective shaped by Candice’s role in sex work and her meticulous record-keeping. Highly recommend.
April 27, 2024
4.5 stars.
May 4, 2024
Very well written and a good story. I felt saddened by her life but inspired but the legacy left behind.
August 8, 2024
I was floored by the care, craft and detail that went into writing this book. So much so that I did a piece about it for Literary Hub: https://lithub.com/my-friend-the-lege...
December 30, 2024
B+. Audiobook
July 6, 2025
I knew Candice a little through our mutual involvement with the organization Feminists for Free Expression. It was fascinating to learn more about her life, and I wish I'd known her better.
December 10, 2024
I thought it was impossible to write an anti porn book (think impossible to make an anti war movie motif) but Kamensky can add to her resume 'the dryest book about the most interesting topic.' As a self proclaimed reader of texts centering feminism, gender, and sexuality, I was looking unbelievably forward to reading this book. The general topic, the historical significance of Candice as a subject, and the elusive 'by a Harvard Professor' had reeled me in hook, line, and sinker. And wow... I am dissatisfied. If you are looking for a suggestion on whether or not you should read this book: no. You can stop here before I go on a bumbling rant about my specific issues with this behemoth of wasted text.
First off: this book has the perfect subject matter. Candice, the 'porn princess' under immense scrutiny, has documented her life to a severe point to assist in the days where people would write about her. It's truly incredible for someone at such a young age to understand the importance of recording ones story. And the author just blows it by:
A) focusing on the wrong subject matter. Why do I now so much about her relationship with her dad right now? I understand that was a big motivator for her life and career (she self proclaims it) but come on! There was no extrospection regarding what the outcome of her work was. Leading me to my next sub bullet.
B) No attempt to smooth over or create a conclusion-ary atmosphere for this woman's entire life. The author has diary entries to up to FIVE MONTHS of Candice's death and outside testimonials. Rather than look back at what she did, the author simply packed up their stationary and with the same fanfare given to an empty Oreo sleeve, declared Candice's life a waste. Per chance even a step further, utilizing it as a warning for later readers.
The author also is completely unjust in her documenting if Candices life because of a painfully obvious, not-even-attempted-to-cover-up bias against those working in the porn industry. I just feel like the author gives more respect to the dirt on their shoes over this woman and fellow workers in the industry. The pre convinced notions are endless and grossly impactful on the greater work.
A) to much pointless time is spent portraying other historical groups and associations as the heros of the time period while continually placing Candice in the 'willy-nilly' role of a always childish girl (not a full adult woman) who has the conviction of a wet paper towel.
All in all, I'm glad Candice has a book written about her life but I really wish it was by someone who gave a crap about her as a human being worthy of taking up space in the first place.
First off: this book has the perfect subject matter. Candice, the 'porn princess' under immense scrutiny, has documented her life to a severe point to assist in the days where people would write about her. It's truly incredible for someone at such a young age to understand the importance of recording ones story. And the author just blows it by:
A) focusing on the wrong subject matter. Why do I now so much about her relationship with her dad right now? I understand that was a big motivator for her life and career (she self proclaims it) but come on! There was no extrospection regarding what the outcome of her work was. Leading me to my next sub bullet.
B) No attempt to smooth over or create a conclusion-ary atmosphere for this woman's entire life. The author has diary entries to up to FIVE MONTHS of Candice's death and outside testimonials. Rather than look back at what she did, the author simply packed up their stationary and with the same fanfare given to an empty Oreo sleeve, declared Candice's life a waste. Per chance even a step further, utilizing it as a warning for later readers.
The author also is completely unjust in her documenting if Candices life because of a painfully obvious, not-even-attempted-to-cover-up bias against those working in the porn industry. I just feel like the author gives more respect to the dirt on their shoes over this woman and fellow workers in the industry. The pre convinced notions are endless and grossly impactful on the greater work.
A) to much pointless time is spent portraying other historical groups and associations as the heros of the time period while continually placing Candice in the 'willy-nilly' role of a always childish girl (not a full adult woman) who has the conviction of a wet paper towel.
All in all, I'm glad Candice has a book written about her life but I really wish it was by someone who gave a crap about her as a human being worthy of taking up space in the first place.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews