Erotica: Women's Writing from Sappho to Margaret Atwood

by Margaret Reynolds

"This collection shows that women have seen themselves as aggressive and receptive lovers, as well as philosophically sexual and loving partners, since the beginning of recorded history." -- SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Here is the first collection of female erotic writing through the ages, and the first to reveal the form's amazing scope--as multifaceted as the sexuality of women themselves. EROTICA reveals the history of women's erotic writing and reexamines the literary expression of female sexuality. Included in this unique anthology Kathy Acker, Jane Austen, Anne Boleyn, Kate Copin, H.D., Radclyffe Hall, Edna O'Brien, Vita Sackville-West, Stevie Smith, Marina Tsvetayeva, Virginia Woolf, and many others.

Genres: Erotica, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction, Feminism, Womens, Poetry

396 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Margaret Reynolds is Professor of English and Modern Culture whose work explores nineteenth to twenty-first century literature, poetry, and the transmission of classical texts. Educated at Oxford and London, her edition of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Aurora Leigh won the British Academy’s Rose Mary Crawshay Prize. She co-edited Victorian Women Poets, authored The Sappho Companion, The Sappho History, and edited Adam Bede for Penguin. A writer and broadcaster for the BBC, The Guardian, and The Times, she also published the memoir The Wild Track in 2021.

Reviews

[Tess Avelland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and diverse collection. And it introduced me to Angela Carter and Naomi Mitchison, whose books I've gone on to read.

[Motoko · Rating 5 out of 5]

just so you know, there is almost no erotica in this book. seriously, i think the title is sensationalist and sexist. its a great read, though. really its 'Women's Writing From Sappho to Margaret Atwood', i have a feeling they slapped on the title 'Erotica' to sell books.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exactly what the title says - an overview of women's writing from Sappho to Atwood - and an exploration of women's sexuality in literature. Excellent.

[Cella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ppl saying this has no erotica … hello? The point of this book was to showcase that women have always been sexual, will always be sexual, despite it often being overlooked since writings have often been less overt.

[mai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slap dash collection, no one piece is long enough to get anything from it

[Stells ☆ミ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deliciously taboo

[Syd ⭐️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection for the ages. From queerness to friendships to feminine desire, this is erotic writing through the ages. I found these to be interesting more than anything. They were separated not by time period but by theme (desire, looking, etc). This worked pretty well as it branched the women together in some way despite their various backgrounds and time periods.

Sometimes collections like these can be a bit confusing or hard to read. This collection at times is no different. There were of course sections that I felt dragged on or made me feel tired, but I kept reading and found that despite that, these stories or sections from books had been generally picked very well and even persuaded me to read more from some authors.

I would totally recommend this to someone who like a difficult read, story collections, or a women’s studies major/minor.

[Kory]

my other airplane book. this is what i pull out when i don't feel like talking to my neighbor. the content serves to keep the peoplei don't want to talk to quiet, and the people i would talk to interested.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm i/2way thro. Mostly good. A collection of women's erotic, & desiring to be free, writing thro history. Sappho, Annonymous, Margaret Atwood, Adrienne Rich & tons more. I enjoy George Sands...Jean Rhy's Wide Sargasso Sea stands out. Lots of poetry, too.

[Kay Baird · Rating 5 out of 5]

see my LiveJournal Review