James Campbell

The heyday of Parisian erotica

In the mid-20th century, titles such as Whip Angels, White Thighs, School for Sin and The Wisdom of the Lash joined Lolita and The Naked Lunch on Olympia Press’s list

Anne Desclos, author of The Story of O, published by Olympia Press under the pseudonym Pauline Réage. [Getty Images]

  • Dirty Books: Erotic Fiction and the Avant-Garde in Mid-Century Paris and New York

    Barry Reay and Nina Attwood

    Manchester University Press, pp. 312, £20

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