BY-WAYS OF RESEARCH: REGENCY SEX ED

Warning: this post (though quite erudite and tasteful) may not be safe for work.

Cara/Andrea here,
I’m delighted to welcome back my good friend and fabulous author Miranda Neville for a visit with the Wenches. For those of you who might not have met Miranda, she grew up in England, attended Oxford, and is—among her many prodigious talents—an expert bibliophile, having worked at Sotheby’s writing catalogues for the rare books and manuscripts. She has put that knowledge to great use in her Regency-set romances, which feature the gentlemen of the Burgundy Club, an exclusive group of book collectors.

The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton, the third in the series, hits the shelves this month . . . and in keeping with the long, hot, steamy summer we all have been experiencing in the States, she decided to share some of the rather “hot” research that went into the book. So gird your loins—so to speak— and let’s join Miranda as she takes us on a short romp through the history of how a good girl might learn some . . . naughty things.

Characters in historical romance have wonderful sex lives. If it doesn’t always start that way, it’s certainly how it ends up. No one wants to read about a “roll over it’s Saturday night” couple. But it certainly helps if one half of the duo – and it’s usually the hero – has a good idea what he’s doing. But how does he (or she) learn how to be a skilled lover?

In general, we are given three sources of wisdom.

(a) The hero’s former relationship(s) with a widow or courtesan. I’ll admit to sometimes feeling skeptical about the latter. Seems to me her job is to make sure the client has a good time regardless of her own pleasure. But never mind. It could happen.

(b) Living in India, home of the Karma Sutra and tangled limbs. Not as common as (a) but a distinct subset.

(c) Reading dirty books. This is particularly useful for virginal heroines.

At this point I back up three years, when I decided to research “historical sex” by reading early pornography. (Not that it was so-called until the mid-19th century in England, derived from a French word for works about prostitution.)

The most celebrated pioneer of pornography was Pietro Aretino, a poet and satirist who wrote a series of sixteen sonnets to accompany a suite of illustrations of sexual positions, engraved after erotic paintings by the youthful Giulio Romano. Issued in 1527, both sonnets and prints caused a scandal and were hunted down for destruction by the Catholic Church. Only fragments of “the postures” exist (the last complete set is said to have been destroyed in 1829) but the sonnets survived. Aretino went on to write The Dialogues, supposedly a record of conversations between whores in a brothel.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Aretino’s model of lists of sexual positions and “whore dialogues” was much imitated in Italy, France, and England. The name Aretino came to be a sort of generic term for salacious literature. His name appears on the title pages of books he didn’t write, starting with La Puttana Errante in 1650, actually the work of Niccolo Franco. Franco’s work was translated and rewritten by French writers and, through them, the English.

I found distinct national differences between Italian, French, and English pornography. Aretino’s sonnets contain a good deal of anal sex, to preserve female virginity and guard against pregnancy. By the time we get to the English versions there is none. I wonder if it reflects the English heterosexual male’s taboo against buggery. French libertine literature tends to be combined with high-flying philosophical ruminations, particularly in the mid-to-late eighteenth century when intellectuals like Restif de la Bretonne, Diderot, and Voltaire were writing forbidden works as a subversive act. The sex lives of nuns and priests was not only titillating, but also a criticism of the existing order. Some of the descriptions can get quite flowery. Among the thirty-six positions listed in a 1783 work entitled Histoire et Vie de L’Aretin are “quand la femme embrasse le Dieu Priape ailé” (“when the woman embraces the winged God Priapus”) and “quand l’homme baisse la femme à la cave” (“when the man kisses the woman in her cellar”).

For scholarly discussion of these works I direct you to Robert Darnton’s Forbidden Bestsellers of Pre-Revolutionary France and Bradford Mudge’s When Flesh Became Word. I wasn’t reading with scholarship in mind, but looking for ideas for my books.

Which brings me to The Genuine and Remarkable Amours of the Late Peter Aretin. I found this slim volume in the British Library when searching the catalogue for Aretino. Bearing the date 1796 on the title page, it’s a novel about the sexual adventures of a youth named Francis Featherbrain and his ardent pursuit of women on tables and riverbanks, in gardens, and brothels and just about anywhere else an Englishman of middling fortune might find himself. Reading it, I knew I’d struck gold. What if, I thought, a virginal heroine used this very book to get a bit of sex ed. So began The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton (with help from the hero who does know what he’s doing.) Every hilarious word Celia reads comes straight from the original. “You think I could make this stuff up?” I asked my editor, when she expressed surprise.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the book:

Minerva slid down from the bed, carried The Genuine Amours off in triumph to the far side of the room and settled on the stool next to her dressing table. Celia waited in dread as the girl opened the book to the bookmark and began to read aloud.
    “A man who seeks pleasure in casual f… Oh my goodness. I can’t say that word!”
    “Then don’t. Stop now.”
     “Never! This is fascinating. He can never find it but in the senses, while he who has love on his side, is stretched on the rack of delight, by those able ministers of pleasure, passion and imagination.” She looked up. “That seems a proper sentiment. The author advocates the act of you-know-what only when love is present.”
    “Believe me,” Celia said. “He does not practice what he preaches.”
    Minerva read quickly down the page. “No, I can see that. Now he is engaging his master’s daughter. How very interesting. They are doing it outside on a downward slope. Listen to this. This posture greatly enhances the pleasure, as it admits of the most perfect entrance that possibly can be conceived of every inch of a prick.”
    “Truly?” Celia asked, torn between interest and the conviction that Minerva should not be using words like “prick.” Not at least in that particular meaning of the word. “I didn’t get to that bit.”
    “Where did you get this book?”
    Celia blushed. “I believe it belongs to Tarquin.” She explained how she found it.
    “I knew he collected books, but not this kind. I didn’t even know this kind of book existed. How fortunate that you found it. Finally I can learn something useful.” She flipped a page. “What do you suppose this means? A deluge of spermy rapture.”

There’s just no end to the trouble we historical writers will take to bring you an authentic story. Do you find the great lovers in romances credible? Or ask me a question about my researches and I’ll try to answer without getting the Word Wenches shut down.

Miranda has kindly offered to send an autographed copy of The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton to one lucky winner, who will be chosen at random from those who leave a comment below between now and Sunday morning.

Third picture from top and bottom picture courtesy of the Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

Comments

[LouisaCornell]

Oh this is PERFECT, Miranda! A dear friend and I were talking about your latest book. I told her you have a wicked sense of humor and can be a 'bawdy' dame." She announced "Oh, I don't know. She seems so very cerebral, British and proper. I just can't imagine her saying or doing anything bawdy!"

You have just given me Exhibit A !!

I don't know if I find the great lovers in romances credible, but I know I WANT them to be credible, or even incredible!

I know a number of Regency romances in which the hero or a member of his family or a member of the heroine's family has a collection of "naughty" books. In your research did you find any particular collections of Georgian/Regency pornography - the kind hidden away in a corner of the library of which families didn't boast until recent years?

[giovanna]

I'm always been interestes in "naughty books", and My own sex education took place in the library of my little village ... where in the middle of the proper books I casually slip in the books that I should not read! I was only 11 or 12, I was really young, but I learned so many things! :-D I still love reading old books, erotic literature from Latin, to Boccaccio and Fanny Hill! I believe that sex has always been one of the most interesting things of human life, and it's almonst apinful to imagine all these centuries when it was a "secret". I really like the idea of ​​a heroine who wants to be educated, and I'm sure the book will be terribly interesting and full of smart laughs! I'll put it in my wish list :-)

(sorry for my English: I'm italian!)

[Dee Feagin]

I do believe that if more men would take the time to read a few romances, they could learn...a lot, and then they wouldn't feel it necessary to smirk at the titles and covers and their significant others would be ever so grateful. Thanks for an enlightening post and why didn't I find those books in my library when I was growing up?:)

[peg s.]

Sounds hilarious! I'd love to read The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton.

[Miranda Neville]

Thank you, Cara and the Wenches, for inviting me today. It's a pleasure and an honor to be here with so many of my favorite writers.

[Miranda Neville]

I don't think I'm terribly "proper", Louisa, LOL. I do find it a bit easier to be bawdy on paper than in person. On the other hand there's nothing like a career as a romance writer to loosen the inhibitions.

I don't recall coming across any collection of naughty books of that period. They haven't survived in great numbers because people were ashamed of them. I expect many a gentleman's library was purged of such stuff by his Victorian descendants. (Not that Victorians didn't have porn). Going into the 20th century there was quite a fashion, especially in France, for elaborately printed erotic works, often illustrated by famous artists. These volumes often turned up in collections of fine press books - I'm sure Cara/Andrea is familiar with some of them.

[Miranda Neville]

That's great, Giovanna. I also scraped together some useful (and occasionally odd) knowledge from books. My sister and I would pour over the James Bond books for the sex scenes, which weren't terribly detailed but included a lot of creative undressing (& they call romances bodice rippers!). At school the girls would pass around books with the hiss "see page 113". Hardly necessary since the book always fell open to the "good bit."

Classic literature is full of sexual references, not all of them obvious to the modern eye. OTOH, I doubt Fanny Hill will ever be allowed in schools.

BTW your English is excellent!

[Miranda Neville]

Dee: I couldn't agree with you more! Even in this day of ready information, men are badly in need of a little sex ed. A close friend of mine, a therapist, sometimes "prescribes" romance novels to couples whose sex life needs a little zing. Romance, not porn, because romance deals with the intimate and emotional side of the act, not just the mechanics.

[Miranda Neville]

Hi Peg: I hope you'll give the book a try.

[Virginia C]

Thank you for this post! You have completely distracted me from contemplating the disasters that I have encountered this week. First, my computer took a lightning strike just as I was leaning down closer to the computer screen. The sound was not unlike a sonic boom. I thought that I had been shot at close range. My life did flash before my eyes. The computer modem had to be replaced. Two days later, the floor fan beside my desk chair began to emit the "burning wires" smell. Just as I reached down to turn it off, flames and black smoke shot out from the fan motor. The hair stood up on the back of my neck, and again my life flashed before my eyes. The fan was put out with the garbage. Mama always said things come in threes, so I am waiting on incident #3! I can't think of a better subject to take my mind off threatening electrical issues than SEX ; ) Yes, SEX, the little three letter word that makes the world go around. Whether we are celibate, sexually adventurous, or somewhere in-between, we are all sexual beings. We all have the equipment, and the range of our user expertise is quite vast and varied. Titillation, temptation, and tantalization can come through in word imagery or exquisitely erotic works of art. Maybe it's just plain raw, raunchy, and risque--whatever your pleasure! It's a subject as old as time that is unfathomable in its power and consequence. We all have the itch, and there is no better way to scratch than with a great, rousingly romantic historical romance.

I am a "Burgundy Club" aficionado! I loved the first two chapters, and I greatly look forward to reading "The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton" : )

[donna ann]

I love that you use an actual real book in your story and that the ladies are the ones finding it interesting & educational ;) It's interesting that "purple prose" was around long before the 70's bodice rippers made it a popular term. I appreciate you going to such lengths for our reading enjoyment ;) Congrats on the release.

[Cara Elliott/Andrea Penrose]

Thanks for joining us, and giving us such an interesting history of "porn"

I do know exactly what books Miranda means from the early 20th century . . . Picasso was among the artists who were commission to do erotic illustrations for private press books. (A whole other topic for a blog!)

The point about explicit book being destroyed is fascinating. I hadn't really thought about it, but it makes sense.

And one last aside. In college I took a bookmaking course with a very well-known artist and at the end of the semester he invited the class to his house for a party. The first thing he did was bring us into his amazing wood-paneled library and haul down an 18th century volume on afflictions of the male privy member . . .I think he took devilish delight in seeing all of us blush furiously at the sight of these huge phalluses! (Note—I Have a feeling he had erotic books too, but those he didn't show.)

[Deanna]

I have been wanting to read this book since I first read about it.

[Hellion]

Is this book easy to locate? It sounds like it would be rather hysterical to read.

I appreciate the effort you went to to bring me an authentic historical romance! :) Thank you for sharing--and I'm rather bummed that that guy's pictures of positions were burned. I kinda wish I could see them. :)

[Irisheyes]

Thanks for sharing your process with us. I've always said that truth is much stranger than fiction - especially when it comes to sex.

I really love when an author brings a little reality into a situation. I read a book recently about a newly married couple (both virgins) who were really struggling with the sex and I thought "well, duh!?" Of course they would struggle if both were ignorant and there was no one around to clue them in. The story was actually very good because they married early on in the book and the rest of the book showed how they had to work through common misunderstandings together and find their way, especially in the bedroom. No spys, villains or over the top dramatics but it still kept me glued to the page wondering how they would work things out.

[Cathy Gilleylen Schultz]

When I was a teenager in the 60's "petting", as we called it then, was not something a "good girl" did with her boyfriend. So what has struck me most in reading some Regency romances is the amount of "petting" that goes along with a FIRST kiss and which doesn't result in an immediate slap to the face by the "innocent" or at the very least embarrassment. Were the mores different in that time period or are author's just spicing up their stories?

[Karen Haas]

HAHAHA..I'll try to make a comment...that is if I can stop laughing long enough to type. A deluge of spermy rapture, indeed. OMFG!!! I gotta get this book! Actually, your post today makes me want to search out and read porno from times past.

And I almost forgot to congratulate you on the release of your latest book.

[Miranda Neville]

Virginia: Sorry about your bad week. Glad to be able to offer a little distraction!

Ha ha, Donna Ann. Purple prose is, indeed, ageless. I didn't mention in my post that these works were written by men for men. Definitely male fantasies! The ladies reading the book find it educational but also absurd.

I knew you'd know, Cara. Eww on the venereal disease book. I've seen some of those illustrations and they are not titillating. Pity he didn't show you some of the better stuff.

Hi, Deanna. Thanks.

[Miranda Neville]

Ms. Hellion! I think it's quite likely the British Library owns the only copy of The Genuine and Remarkable Amours. Since the out-of-copyright collection is being digitized, it may be available online one of these days. The book was originally in the Private Case of the British Museum, a collection of sexy books and artifacts that were forbidden to most patrons. Now they've been absorbed into the general collections, but I still had to read it in a special secure section of the rare book reading room. Apparently this kind of book is especially susceptible to theft :)

[Miranda Neville]

Irisheyes. That sounds like a great book. I agree about a little reality. My couples rarely have great sex the first time.

And talking of reality, Cathy, no. I don't think the average Regency girl got straight to third base on the first kiss. Publishers and readers like sexy books. I think I can speak for other historical romance writers when I say I work hard to make the extra-marital sex well-motivated. In The Amorous Education, for example, my hero and heroine are alone together for days without a chaperone. I strongly believe that nature will take its course in any era when a strong attraction is combined with opportunity.

[Diane Sallans]

Reading theis made me think of a book I ran across years ago called The Pearl. It was supposed to be a compilation of a series of stories printed as serials in a British newspaper in the 1800's. I don't know if that is true - do you know?
I always learn something when I rad your posts and this one was certainly full of fun. I know Celia's story will provide even more fun.

[Cara Elliott/Andrea Penrose]

Miranda, I, too, wish the artist had pulled out the more "fun" pictures of privy parts—you're right, it was NOT a pretty sight. But he was trying to tweak us college students . . .and did succeed.

I do hope "Amours" makes it to digitalization. It really does sound like it would be worth a few laughs!

I also second you answer to Irisheyes about publishers wanting sexy books, so we authors work extra hard to create believable motivations and circumstances. I do love your line about attraction and opportunity. So true!

[Jeanne Miro]

Miranda, I want to thank you for sharing your research with us! The next time I'm reading one of your books and my husband complains about how many books I have stacked in a TBR pile I can tell him that I'm doing important research!

I think back to when my boys were in High School and taking a "health" class that supposedly taught them about sex education. Even though this was in the late 1980's to early 1990's it was about as complete as what I got in the 1960's which was none! My mother thought that the only sex education needed was to leave the flyer out on the counter from the Kotex box. I think that the teenagers today would

I think that teenagers today would learn a lot more from the resarch you've done then they learn at home or in the classroom!

When I was reading the post the first thing that came to my mind was my High School English class when we had to read The Nun's Priest Tale in Middle English. Your research sounds like a lot more fun to read!

I loved the excerpt and can't wait to read this latest Burgundy Club book.

[misskallie2000]

I believe I have had my first lesson in early porn. Very interesting post and so much I did not know regarding sex books and porn from 100's of yrs ago. Spermy rapture, I thought I was going to spray my tea on my computer screen, lol. I love books that also make you laugh which can lighten the mood in the reading just when you need it. I never thought about authors having to research sex to make their writing more authentic to the era of the story.
I like sex written to show the hero/heroine coming together for HEA. Don't like porno or erotic books. I would rather imagine what is happening than to be told with crude words etc.
I have been reading for over 60 yrs so I have read many books where the great lovers in romances were credible and went back to those authors for more books.
Thanks for the awesome giveaway. Congrats for this latest release and keep them coming.
Keeping my fingers crossed that I be the winner of this awesome book.

[Johanna Jochum]

Thanks for doing the research! This book sounds amazing!

[Kat]

That’s for the great blog topic. I immediately thought of memoirs of a woman of pleasure or Fanny Hill.

[Patricia Rice]

Thanks for visiting the wenches, Miranda. Your post was both informative and inspiring as well as worth a few good grins. "G" I never went so far as to actually track down the "dirty" books my heroines have found over the years. I always assumed given human nature there had to be some and left it the reader's imagination as to what they contained. Brava on taking this to hilarious lengths!

And Virginia--you're experiencing Mercury Retrograde in spades! Stay safe!

[Amy Conley]

This is VERY interesting.The part about homosexuality in Europe v England also makes sense today because we see Europeans being much more open to all things sexual, while, the US (mostly) and England, still to a small degree, are all tied up in knots about sex.(No pun intended!) I know of a game called AROUND THE WORLD IN BED and it had different positions for different countries, I wonder if it was brought about by one of these books? (Research purposes only!)

[Wynne]

Now I'm motivated to tackle my neglected copy of Fanny Hill. Thank you for the interesting post!

[nancy]

I think many were satisfied with Aristotle's Masterpiece.
Pornography seems to always have had a market.
They didn't only read books, they had pictures as well.
I have a book of follow the dots pictures one is to finish. All late 18th century. I didn't know until I received it in the mail that the pictures all included giant penises or pudenda. Quite a few showed men and women engaging in the act. The man was often shown standing about a foot away from the female while obviously connected to her. As was said: a male dream. I have it hidden away. Want to swap books?

[Karenmc]

I finished reading The Wild Marquis last night and loved it. My big weekend plan is to read The Dangerous Viscount so I can get to Celia and Tarquin ASAP. I'm enjoying all of the bibliophile aspects of the Burgundy Club, as well as the smart dialogue of the characters. More please!

[Sherrie Holmes]

From Sherrie:
What a great interview! Thank you, Miranda and Cara/Andrea, for bringing it to us.

Loved the research and discovery of little gems of wisdom. Like many of the above commenters, I spewed my coffee at "A deluge of spermy rapture." Very purple, but so very earnest! LOL!

Miranda, I'm so glad Cara/Andrea invited you for a return visit. Your posts are always interesting and informative. Thank you for this glimpse into a "forbidden" subject that has become so commonplace nowadays that it barely raises an eyebrow. (And isn't it interesting that in order to do more than just raise an eyebrow, we must needs go back in history?!) *g*

[Jo Beverley]

Miranda, what a fun blog. Thanks for posting it here. Pornographic books can certainly move a story along, but I'm sure some would turn a young lady right off, which would be fun.

Jo

[DianeN]

I've been "circling" Miranda's Burgundy Club books, trying to decide if I really want to read another historical series, and I think this post has convinced me that I NEED to! Being a total bibliophile myself it's hard to pass up a series with book collector heroes.

[Rosie Nguy]

That must have been some fun research you did for your book, Miranda. I've always been curious about sex through the ages, ever since I found out about History Channel's show "The History of Sex".

[Miranda Neville]

I've heard of The Pearl, Diane, but I don't know much about it. Glad you enjoyed the post.

Jeanne: LOL on your mother and the Kotex box. I didn't get much more than that! I think sex ed is better in schools than when I was growing up (i.e. better than none) but the educational system is so nervous of being accused of promoting sex that the classes are basic and dry.

I managed to avoid Chaucer in Middle English. I was very excited when I discovered Measure for Measure, one of the few Shakespeare plays we never read in school because it's quite impossible to remove the sex.

Misskallie: If I hadn't been in a library without any coffee I'm sure that line would have made me spew. I think I drew a few eyes with my laughter.

Johanna. Thanks for visiting.

Kat: Fanny Hill was so famous that it's actually mentioned by the author of The Genuine Amours.

[Miranda Neville]

Thanks for the welcome, Patricia. There was certainly quite a variety of informative literature available for the enterprising female. Leaving it to the imagination is just fine. I was just glad I didn't have to invent it. Creating fake period writing is much harder than it looks, at least to me.

I haven't made a study of it, Amy, but Regency London had a very active homosexual underground. It's true however, that the French in particular have a much more laissez faire attitude about sexuality.

Fanny Hill is actually quite a good read, Wynne, except that John Cleland does not seem to have been aware of the existence of the clitoris. Def. not written for women.

As you say, Nancy, there has always been a market for porn. The books you mention sound fascinating. The fact that the male equipment tends to be shown in exaggerated form is testament to the male audience for these works. As is the fact that "yard" is one of the most common words for the penis. That one always makes me snigger.

Oh thank you, Karen. So glad you enjoyed The Wild Marquis!

[Miranda Neville]

It's lovely to be back here, Sherrie. You are right that detailed discussion of sexuality is commonplace now. One has to put oneself into a time and place when it was truly shocking.

That's a terrific idea, Jo. Some of the illustrated works, such as Cara and Nancy have mentioned, would be quite alarming for an ignorant young woman. Men tend to react more to visual stimuli, women to the cerebral and emotional. The book I used is unillustrated and my heroine finds it laughable, disturbing in parts, and titillating.

[Miranda Neville]

Hi, DianeN. Take a dip! If you do read the Burgundy Club books, I'd love to hear what you think of the bibliographic history.

Rosie: In most ways sex hasn't changed. But attitudes change over the centuries and that's what interests me.

[Anne Gracie]

Fabulous post, Miranda -- waving madly at Cara and Miranda.
Loved the post, love the idea of using a naughty book in...um, a naughty book Miranda you know I love your books and I have my copy of Celia Seaton right here.
Thanks for visiting the WordWenches.

[Na]

A little or a lot of education for men couldn't hurt. Even if they don't think they need it then they should still read it or learn about it to prove they do know it all. For me, great lovers in books is all about believability. Regarding studying early writings about sex-ed would also be hard because of it being destroyed by people who deemed it unholy. Thank you for an interesting post.

[Cara Elliott/Andrea Penrose]

Waving back madly, Anne! (Miranda, Anne and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner together during RWA . . . and shared many a great laugh.) Miranda promised us a fun "porn" blog, and she sure deliverd!

[Ebony McKenna]

The history of naughty bits. I love it!
'Well meaning' people would have had these books banned as well!

[pooks]

Brilliant! I'll be reading this one whether I win it or not!

[Laura T]

Hi Miranda,

Wow, what an interesting topic! I thought the early English were so repressed that I didn't realize there was even any existing pornography to do any research on the subject.

See, this is why (or so I tell my friends and family) that I read historical romance novels: I just LEARN SO MUCH ABOUT HISTORY! lol

Seriously, I was just about to order the book but will wait until Monday to see if I have won it--which would be WAY cooler!

Thanks and have a great weekend,

Laura T
heartoftexasbooks[at]yahoo[dot]com

[Sue Stewart]

I will definitely take a look at Celia's education! :D A wonderful post, and and fantasic find of a "reference book"!

[Miranda Neville]

Hi Anne. That was such an entertaining dinner in NY with you and Cara, and Jo Bourne too. It's true, Cara, I promised you porn. You know I thought about changing my post to an improving topic like animal husbandry, but I always try to keep my word.

Na: I'm a great believer in continuing education, especially for men :)

Hi Ebony. So true. No matter what you write, someone's going to disapprove. Long live the 1st amendment.

Thanks, Pooks!

Hi Laura. As earlier commenters have pointed out, there's porn in just about every time period. I enjoy researching the historical background of my romances, as do all the hostesses on this blog. I'm glad you find them educational.

Thank you, Sue. I'm smiling a bit at the idea of The Genuine Amours as a "reference book." I doubt if it's definitive on any subject!

[Dee]

Oh, I am looking forward to this 3rd book of yours. I really enjoyed the other two and this promises to be a lot of fun.

Awesome quotes.

I've always been puzzled by the so-called "innocent" heroine. In days when most people lived on the land and had farm animals around, un-neutered dogs/cats, etc, the act could hardly be a mystery. Heck, most families shared sleeping space. I do have a vague recollection of a hilarious written? scene where the young woman assumes the position doggie-style because that is what she believes is done.

The coach scene in your first book was inspired. I did wonder if (never having been inside a moving coach) whether vigourous sex would cause the coach to rock excessively and prompt the coachman to pull over. That, or whether the notoriously bad roads wouldn't result in a hard-to-explain injury at the wrong moment...

Amusing juxtaposition of the recent post titles. Weds was "Keeping it Clean" and Thurs was "Regency Sex Ed". It appears that the Regency Sex Ed wasn't really clean. :)

[Annie]

I think it must be incredibly difficult to write sex scenes, their being such well-trodden territory, so to say. When I read one that is not only original but character driven, I'm in awe.

I can't resist offering a small defense of Chaucer. Many people think of his bawdy tales, which are great fun. But Troilus and Criseyde has some of the most beautiful love poetry I've ever read. The sex scene in Bk. III made me swoon when I was a junior in college:

Hire armes smale, hire streghte bak and softe,
Hire sydes longe, flesshly, smothe, and white
He gan to stroke, and good thrift bad ful ofte
Hire snowisshe throte, hire brestes rounde and lite.
Thus in this hevene he gan hym to delite,
And therwithal a thousand tyme hire kiste,
That what to don, for joie unneth he wiste.

It was a powerful incentive to learn Middle English -- though I don't think you need to know any to get the gist of what's happening here!

[Maureen]

I am impressed by your dedication to your work. I think it is difficult to portray an experienced hero without him appearing to be unappealing and a bit sleazy, at least to me.