Erotic Stories

by Rowan Pelling (Editor)

Erotic Stories is a treasury of amorous tales from around the world, ranging from ancient Greek myths to modern stories of longing and lust.



From the innocent yearning of Daphnis and Chloe evoked by Longus to the sadomasochism of Pauline R�age's Story of O, this anthology explores human desire across the ages in all its dark complexity. Whether intensely raw or subtly insinuating, the short stories gathered here--by writers as different as Boccaccio and Chekhov, Ana�s Nin and Allan Gurganus--are calculated to unsettle and arouse. Here too are scenes from such classic novels as Choderlos de Laclos's Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Nicholson Baker's The Fermata, from Junichiro Tanizaki's The Key and Sarah Waters's Tipping the Velvet. Accounts of ardor and transgression also flow from unexpected pens: an astonishingly explicit scene from Edith Wharton's unfinished "Beatrice Palmato," for example, and Guy de Maupassant's heated "Idyll," which describes a young peasant woman offering her breast to a starving stranger on a train.

Hunger is the fierce undercurrent to these tales: the gnawing lust of one lover for another, or the greedy pursuit of a particular inclination. The elegant depravity of an eighteenth-century French aristocrat, the dreamlike seductions of an Egyptian jinni in the form of a snake, the brutal anonymity of a highway truck-stop encounter--the stories in this richly varied collection reveal that the urge to articulate sexual desire is as inventive as it is timeless.

Genres: Erotica, Short Stories, Fiction, Romance, Literature, Classics, Anthologies

384 pages, Hardcover

First published November 21, 2013

About the author

British journalist and columnist for the Daily Telegraph. Pelling is also the former editor of the Erotic Review.

Reviews

[nemo ☠️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

average story rating: 3.3 stars

although there were some gems in here (bolded in the rating breakdown below), i found most of the stories to be lacklustre. some of them were non-explicit romantic rather than erotic, which of course isn't a bad thing in of itself, except this is an erotica anthology.

i appreciate the author's attempt to have a varied collection of stories, however the older stories tend not to be explicit and therefore out of place; daphnis and chloe was a complete anaphrodisiac, espousing the view still common nowadays but far more common in the olden days that taking a woman's virginity always has to hurt and the woman will fight but the man just has to push through it because it will be good for her in the end. i almost felt my sexual organs shrivel up in sympathy.

something that i was mildly surprised about was the reasonably varied amount of kinks. i was expecting sadomascochism and dub/noncon, by far the most common kinks in erotica, but we also had non-explicit bestality in the golden ass, lactation in idyll, time-stop voyeurism in the fermata, phone sex and voyeurism in thought waves, and non-explicit-ish bestality again (although the snake was actually a divine spirit in disguise so... is that bestality?) in my world of the unknown.

pairing-wise, there are two m/m stories, two f/f and twenty m/f. this was pretty much what i was expecting from a mainstream erotica anthology; i'm grateful they included gay pairings at all but i would have liked maybe 8 or so out of the 24 to be gay; still, they were well-chosen (except from dr woolacott, which wasn't erotic and i didn't really get).

all in all, i reckon this is worth picking up. it's a mixed bag, but there are some absolute gems in here.

individual rating breakdown:

daphnis and chloe [excerpt] - 1 star
colette looks back - 3.5 stars
tipping the velvet [excerpt] - 5 stars
les liaisons dangereuses [excerpt] - 1 star
decameron [excerpt] - 3 stars
thought waves - 4 stars
the fermata [excerpt] - 4 stars
the golden ass [excerpt] - 3.5 stars
my world of the unknown - 5 stars
misha - 5 stars
dr woolacott - 2 stars
the story of o [excerpt] - 4 stars
gordon [excerpt] - 5 stars
venus in furs [excerpt] - 4 stars
idyll - 4 stars
my little girl - 3 stars
marcel - 4 stars
the beautiful indifference - 1.5 stars
getting hurt [excerpt] - 2 stars
the key [excerpt] - 1.5 stars
the lady with the dog - 2.5 stars
lady chatterley's lover [excerpt] - 3.5 stars
forced use - 5 stars
nightlight - 2.5 stars

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

In terms of historical and cultural range and inclusion of major works, this is a well-chosen collection. But a lot of erotica that was, at the time, very groundbreaking and important does not stand up as great reading today. And the number of stories centered on sexual assault or molestation left a bad taste in my mouth. I can't really fault the editor's choices, but unfortunately they do not make for a fun or even pleasant read.

[roo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Granted that reading it introduced me to some of my now-favourite books, but I couldn't agree that all of the material chosen for this collection ought to be classed as erotica. There were also a large proportion of frustratingly short and frankly unusually edited excerpts, which I found quite jarring and disruptive to my flow (not a euphemism) of reading. It really ought to lost stars for that Carry On dust jacket.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I bought the book, I thought it was a collection of short stories, but it wasn't. These are just clips from longer novels, which is fine if they made me want to read the whole books. But onfortunately they didn't. Some I had read, like Lady Chatterley's lover, but this book just wasn't for me. I know a lot of these stories are classics, I just prefer to read the whole book, and not just parts of it.
The cover is really pretty though, and that's always a plus 😀

[Tra-Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems I'm going to take my sweet time reviewing this fantastic collection properly, so I'm just going to go at it with shorter, careless summaries instead. Overall, I think the editor did a magnificent job drawing together stories by authors living and by authors dead for millennia, of subtle implications and of graphic description, female and male, vanilla and very not, straight and gay, etc. The one consistent thread across this collection is that the stories are erotic *literature*, not written porn, and I loved it.

Daphnis and Chloe - An idyllic and gentle beginning, but I was relieved that this didn't define the tone of the collection.
Colette Looks Back - Another very tame one, with no element that stood out for me.
Tipping the Velvet - I liked this very much. A lesbian romance with beautiful imagery.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses - Now it started getting interesting. I've seen the 1988 movie, and I already found this scene arousing, and very well-written here in the original. I was pleased to see that the editor of this collection was willing to put in unsavory scenes.
Decameron - I liked the setup of a young man at a nunnery. I would have liked it better if it played up the secrecy and went into more graphic detail, but this is one of many stories that for me highlighted the editor's taste and restraint.
Thought Waves - This was definitely graphic in ways Decameron was not, but I was faintly thrown off by the double-betrayals of trust.
The Fermata - Loved the unique approach of this one and the author's realistic descriptions of women. Planning to read the book.
The Golden Ass - Suddenly we even have bestiality in here! Very fun. This made me feel I had no idea where the editor might be willing to go.
My World of the Unknown - The collection's second instance of bestiality, but in this case it is really a goddess, which was an interesting element. I was a little repelled by the narrator's rather annoying personality.
Misha - The descriptions in this, so much of water, were pleasant. It was a low-key one similar to the first couple of stories.
Dr. Woolacott - Whee, a ghost story! Clearly following Misha with another story that ends in a sort of murder. The complex setup of this one made it enjoyable. It built a world and characters convincingly. I don't know how erotic it really was, but it was some, I guess, and I liked it. These subtle stories make the graphic ones better.
The Story of O - Actually I rather hated this, but I won't go into why.
Gordon - Fantastic character-building and unique interactions with a BDSM vibe. The second one, after The Fermata, I intend to read in full.
Venus in Furs - I didn't read this because I am reading the book.
Idyll - Lovely change with this one from stories of two partners engaging in sex to "Roman Charity." The eroticism largely comes from the reader's own mind, since the people depicted are just being practical. Great restraint.
My Little Girl - This is probably the most pornographic of the stories, in terms of being a sort of close-up of sex with very little filler. Arousing and forgettable.
Marcel - Well, of course it's good, it's Anais Nin. She has a way of describing things directly and with electricity, and works in little acts you can't predict.
The Beautiful Indifference - I disliked this one. Not very poetic writing, modern in a bad way, and with a sense of superiority..."look how clever I am," perhaps. It all felt fake to me.
Getting Hurt - This one was fine. Nothing memorable for me.
The Key - I like this sort of story mixed in, where the eroticism comes from something other than blatant sex acts. The fear of getting caught was good, too.
The Lady with the Dog - This was more beautiful and interesting as a story than erotic, which I don't mind.
Lady Chatterley's Lover - Classic, of course good.
Forced Use - There is no other story in this collection anything like this. It's modern, it's gay, it's graphic and violent. Most of all, it's incredibly honest. To me it was the most arousing story of the book.
Nightlight - I had difficulty focusing on this introspective, mild story after Forced Use. Sorry!

[Colby Mcmurry · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars; solid collection of stories ranging from Ancient Greece to the modern day. As one of my first concentrated efforts to focus on the erotic genres, I would say this is a good jumping off point.

[Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of stories from different eras.

[Anya · Rating 5 out of 5]

lovely stories. really span the gamut in terms of topic, etc. haven't read short stories in a while and this was a treat.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good excerpts from classic literature in this one. Will keep even though I have just about all the stories in full book form.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a novice to the erotica genre, I would say that this title was a good introduction that spans both time and location in the short stories chosen. I have a major issue with the editor, in that each story should have included a brief introductory note, or, at the very least, a date! For instance, an excerpt from Giovanni Boccaccio's (1313–1375) "The Decameron" is included without any date at all, even in the acknowledgements section. This oversight is beyond annoying in that it is necessary to look each story up upon completion, minus the obviously contemporary pieces. The book includes 24 stories broken down into 4 sections: Erotic Awakenings, Games of Seduction, Sexual Alchemy, Love Hurts, Moments of Ecstasy, Married Passion and Extra-Marital Excursions. Chekhov, Wharton and Nin are included along with others never heard of, and, as a whole, the book provides an interesting introduction to the genre! Honestly, some of my other works of fiction were a little more erotic than some of the tales included in this book. As for reading it on the subway, there were a few times I hid the cover. I am a wimpy librarian! :)

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection erotic short stories and excerpts from across the centuries and cultures. This is very much a literary collection--none of the erotica on the level of Fifty Shades of Grey, either in level of graphic action or quality of writing (thank God). A lot of the classics are here--an excerpt of Lady Chatterly's Lover, Anais Nin's "Marcel", a bit of "The Story of O"--as well as some newer works by Sarah Waters and Nicholson Baker. Boccacio and Apuleius represent the Renaissance and the ancients, respectively. The selections mostly feature hetero couplings, although Waters, E. M. Forster and Allan Gurganus provide same sex perspectives. The variety here is a great point (a writer from Japan, a Middle Eastern woman writing about a djinn, plenty of big names with some lesser knowns, the ancients with moderns), and each story has literary merit, and doesn't push the boundaries of most tastes, in my opinion. Pelling states in the intro the effort to track down stories best representing the universal drive that desire sparks, and on the whole succeeds in that purpose.

[Dorothy Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find it difficult to rate anthologies. Some of the stories/ selections I would not rate at all, I thought they were awful, not just badly written but incomprehensible in terms of plot and character development and maybe that's not the point but they were just quite vacant. However there were two stories that I loved. E M Forster's Dr Woolacott and Sarah Hall's The Beautiful Indifference. Reading E M Forster's short story confirmed to again just what a brilliant writer he is. The way he manages to convey such meaning and beauty through his prose is really a marvel.

[Terese · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh... that pretty much sums up my opinion of this collection. Just meh. I kind of wish I hadn't bothered with it. Read "Dangerous liasions" and "Decameron" in their entirety instead, you'll have a better time of it.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 2.5 stars. There were maybe 2 or 3 stories that I enjoyed. The rest were either blah or disturbing. I definitely was not in any hurry to finish this.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf

[Rita P Smits · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every story is different, interesting, daunting, even if we end up not liking it. A good book.