Fanny Hill

novel by Cleland

Also known as: “Fanny Hill; or, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure”, “Memoirs of Fanny Hill”, “Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure”

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In full:: Memoirs of Fanny Hill

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Fanny Hill, erotic novel by John Cleland, first published in two volumes in 1748–49 as Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure. An expurgated version published in 1750 chronicles the life of a London prostitute, describing with scatological and clinical precision many varieties of sexual behaviour. Although elegantly written, the novel was condemned as pornography and was suppressed from its initial publication, almost never being mentioned in literary circles. It was kept in print surreptitiously, however, and for almost two centuries Fanny Hill enjoyed a salacious reputation. The book was not published legally until 1963 in the United States and 1970 in England.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.