The Romance of Lust (Unabridged‪)‬

This is a book of Victorian erotica, and as such, is intended for adults only. It is not just any book of erotica, though.

Authorship of this salacious literary classic has often been attributed to either of two men: William Simpson Potter, or Edward Sellon. The British museum, however, using similarity of style and other clues, attributes it to Potter.

The book details the sexual awakening and erotic adventures of “Charlie", a young man born into upperclass British society. The original edition was published in four volumes: the first two (this book) detailing Charlie's introduction to sex and his exploits up to his teenage years. Volumes three and four were about his more mature years. Today, it is often published as two seperate books.

As mentioned above, this is for adults only, since Charlie's descriptions portray a wide variety of sexual activities in great detail. Like many books of Victorian erotica, The Romance of Lust gives a fascinating look at the “other side” of the Victorian era, when the shackles of sexual oppression were thrown off, at least in fiction.