The Passion Flower Hotel

Passion Flowers #1

by Roger Erskine Longrigg (pseudonym)

This is the amusing and pointed tale of the goings-on in an exclusive English girl's boarding school. Amongst the many extra-curricular activities offered are a strip-club and bordello for the benefit of the needy pupils at a nearby boy's school where, despite their backgrounds and moneyed parentage, some may have lead a deprived existence. The ‘Passion Flower Hotel' is the crazy house of ill repute where the hockey captain finds romance; there are adventures galore; and all in the cause of allowing the reader to enjoy and appreciate Roger Longrigg's supreme wit and storytelling.

Genres: Fiction, Erotica, Boarding School

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Laura Black, Ivor Drummond, Frank Parrish, Domini Taylor, Rosalind Erskine, Megan Barker and Grania Beckford.

Reviews

[🐴 🍖]

jacket photo notwithstanding, there is no rosalind erskine: this is one of approx a billion noms de plume of roger longrigg, midcent british author & adman. roger as rosalind as sarah recounts w/ cheerful amorality the founding of the titular hotel, actually a sub rosa brothel set up w/ boarding school classmates under the noses, so to speak, of prefects, school admin, &c. involves a lotta cajolery, blackmail, & a strongly worded refund policy. the rapid-fire dialogue & quick cuts b/w scenes in conjunction with a general breeziness felt v french new wave. it reads like it's got a jazz soundtrack. about as tasteful as poss, too, given the particulars: focus is kept on the business end of things and not, uh, the other business end of things. will assuredly be peeping more roger longrigg. how good are those ivor drummond novel titles?

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this book is really more a 3.5, but I appreciated enough about it to give it a 4 instead of a 3.

First of all, I greatly enjoy texts that allude to sex, but that never explicitly say things. Even though this whole story is about a group of girls learning to sell their bodies, it never details a sex scene. I feel it takes a special kind of skill to create a sexy scene without the lewd details.

I also found the book funny because I'm a sociologist with an interest in sexuality. To read about their business venture and place myself in their heels made me chuckle.

I love the book for being so dated, but alas it's also the reason I deducted points. The bits about race bothered me tremendously. I felt like I found dinosaur bones in a playground.

Besides that, I didn't like how they blackmailed or tricked some girls into prostitution. It reminded me of various news horror stories.

All in all, an interesting read. It's a time capsule, a sociology-of-sexuality gem.

[Carla Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1962 British trifle is almost like a children's book: lightly entertaining, lightly amusing. Easy to read. Innocent. It's about teenaged girls starting a prostitution ring at their boarding school (they do not go "all the way" however, more like necking and stripteasing). Maybe it seems extra innocent because it's 2010 now, but it had to be a quirky little volume even when it first appeared.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a saucy, St Trinians-style romp set in a girls' public school, the tale being narrated by Sarah and featuring her and her four best friends. Finding it impossible to meet boys or learn anything about love, Sarah finds that the boys at the nearby public school are facing the same problem. Sarah and her friends decide to solve both problems by offering sexual services to the boys, at a cost of course! It is all very light-hearted and entertaining and very much of its time (having been published in 1962) so definitely not P.C. The interesting backstory revolves around the author, Rosalind Erskine, who was supposed to be a teenage girl herself when she wrote the book. In fact, the book was written by a man who made a habit of writing books under many different names and in different genres. This was another book I discovered through Christopher Fowler's Book of Forgotten Authors - 8/10.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first discovered this little gem back in the '60's and enjoyed it greatly. I re-read it in 2004 and now again ... and it's still enjoyable. Sarah, a fifteen-year old, narrates the story of teenage girls at a boarding school in England. They are at an age where hormones are raging and interest in 'sexual escapades' are thriving. What are they to do about this situation? At a chance meeting during the Christmas break, our heroine meets a boy from a neighboring all-male school, and that sets things in motion. Sarah and her roommates decide to form a Syndicate and make themselves available to the boys 'for a price'. Liaisons are arranged, shy maidens blossom into eager seductresses, danger of discovery lurks around every corner.
This book was actually made into a 'soft-core' film called "Boarding School" in 1978, starring Nasstassja Kinski (star of "Tess"). Very poorly done, and not worth searching for.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a dated look of teen-agers trying to learn about their sexuality. The girls have decided the boys need help to get over their hesitancy, fear, and diffidence. They set up a bordello in their boarding school.

What a difference 60 years make in societal mores. The story is dated and very innocent. Even the students are innocent compared to today's mores and writing. I found it interesting. I also laughed as the students were negotiating what acts and how much. I chuckled throughout the story at their innocence.

[Lily Larsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not on par with the female empowerment narrative I drew from the dust cover’s description. Sarah’s vainness was enraging and never combatted. Racist remarks went normalized. I did enjoy the poems throughout, and for that this receives the single star.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was extremely hilarious and fun to read. Mid teen girls at a boarding school interested in the opposite sex start a very efficient and professional bordello for the boys at a neighbouring boys school. Their pice list consists of looking only, touching only or my favourite nothing barred short of la penetration or nothing barred. Incredibly clever look at upper-class adolescent morality. Highly recommend this.

[Lee Stuart Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this in a used book store because I thought it would be ridiculous. It was a surprisingly funny, entertaining read!

[Orion · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amusing look at adolescent sexuality from an age before birth control, the Sexual Revolution, and AIDS.

In this 1962 satire a group of five girls at a British boarding school decide to do something about their sexual inexperience. One of the girls, having read a sociological study of prostitution, suggests to the others that a more structured approach is needed. So they start a business of satisfying the needs of the students at the boys school down the road. They call themselves The Syndicate, and their business they name The Passion Flower Hotel. Their mottos are: "The Syndicate Will Meet Your Needs," and "Actions Speak Louder Than Words." They develop a list of charges based on three categories of services: Vision Only, Touch, and Nothing Barred. Business is thriving until the school starts to get wind of their activities. Will they "go all the way?" Will they get caught?

Rosalind Erskine was actually Roger Erskine Longrigg, an author who wrote novels under other pseudonyms as well as his own name. S/he wrote a sequel entitled Passion Flowers In Italy and died in 2000. In 1965 this book was made into a London musical. In 1978 it was made into a movie in Germany starring Natassja Kinski entitled Leidenschaftliche Blümchen.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excerpt from this cropped up in 'The Dirty Bits for Girls' and, since I'd never heard of it, I was curious enough to hunt down a copy. It's the tale of a little clique of posh and rather unpleasant boarding school girls who decide, for no particular reason, to set up a bordello in the gym. And why not, indeed. This would all be well enough if it had been written by a young woman, but the fact that 'Rosaline Erskine' was actually a middle-aged man makes it all a bit iffy. Still, the public school voices are pitch-perfect.

[Eyehavenofilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The boarding school for girls discovers that sex-Ed is lacking in their school curriculum, as well as in the boys school in town. So to set that straight and fill the need the girls set up shop a' la' " Risky Business" only from. Tween female point of view. Hijinks Ensue! Be prepared to laugh your pants off. This was written before sex was a lascivious, money oriented business in literature, when bra hooks were difficult to unhook, zippers got permanently stuck, and a French kiss was ....well sinful! Have fun!

[Julie Waldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a re-read of a book that was passed around surreptitiously in junior high school. It's about a group of teenaged girls at a posh British boarding school who start their version of a brothel -- the passion Flower Hotel. I recall it being fairly racy when I was 15 (wow, wasn't that was a long time ago!) but now it's just mildly amusing and very dated. I gave it 3 stars for nostalgia's sake.

[Ahndreya Gooteeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was purchased mainly as a joke form my friend corey based on its cover. It is a satire of English sexuality and concerns a young girls srarting a brothel at her private school. It is funny, makes for fun reading aloud to girlfriends on the trains, isn't all that scandalous (I have read A.N. Rampling) But it was entertaining.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could ever be a fly on a wall... .The dormitory or history library of these five wonderful girls is where I would be. The most fun ever had with a naughty book. Business is business when dealing with the syndicate, even if they or there companions are lacking in... well, I'll just let you read the book and find out. Enjoy!

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as a teenager in the early 60s and it made a big impression on me. Now as a grandmother I wondered whether it still existed......it was amusing but I should have stayed with my memories of it!!

[Werebot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up on a lark and actually liked it. It's like reading naughty Wodehouse(Although it's really pretty tame).

[The Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

See my comments on Stalky & Co., only substitute girls for boys, and add in an amateur brothel.

[Judy Brunner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this series when I was still at school. Seemed very risqué to me then.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming

[Amy Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, funny little book.