Caught as a leftover at the Leeds weekend meet, will offer it up at another meet soon to get a new reader for it. :)

RELEASE NOTES:

Off to find a new reader.

This is being released as part of my own challenge to release another 500 books by 31MAR2011.

If you're a local we'd love to see you at the monthly Leeds Bookcrosser meet, we're a friendly group who like swapping books over a couple of drinks. Check us out on our homepage - http://bookcrossing.meetup.com/9/. :)

Picked up at the Leeds Meetup. I'm glad to see that this seems to be the properly mucky unexpurgated version and not the old, cut version that disappointed me a few years back.

Edit 6th Feb 2010: Finally got round to reading this.

As a satire this is brilliant. I like the OTT flowery romantic language and the jabs at the sanctimonious, moralising novels of the time. The word "VARTUE" absolutely drips with sarcasm.

As a Bildungsroman I think it's less successful. Fanny's character doesn't seem to develop all that much and all that happens to her is very much down to luck. She's totally dependent on a series of benefactors who just happen to cross her path. It's been a while since I read it, but I seem to remember Moll Flanders being more resourceful and pragmatic.

Does it still work as pornography? Well, yes and no. I can't deny that it gets the blood flowing in places, but it tends to be a bit repetitive. The sex scenes (and the plot is mostly sex scenes) could basically be summed up as: kissing, fumbling with bosoms, flipping up of petticoats, lengthy lyrical description of oversized "machine", penetration, raptures, end. Repeat. It's all very phallocentric, to use an old school feminist word, and there's an ignorance of certain anatomical facts which sometimes totally destroys any authenticity the female voice might have had. But hey, it is the 18th century after all, and Kinsey et al are still a long way off, so fair play to Mr Cleland for having a go.

Erica Jong wrote a retort to this book, called simply "Fanny", which I have stashed away somewhere. Will have to dig it out and give it a read one of these days.

On its way to stubee. Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks very much Shnedwards it's arrived. I enjoyed the postcard too!

11 years on and I'm finally getting round to reading this one.

I read this between 16th and 22nd of September. I think for it's time it's an important novel but I'm not sure if it stands the test of time, I enjoyed it but I wasn't aroused by it. I do like shnedwards synposis and agree with her take on Fanny's development as a character.

Well another 1001 book down, I'll pass this to KT-J to read now before deciding where Fanny goes next.

Thanks Stubee, another to add to the pile!