The Classic Olivia M. Ravensworth

by Olivia M. Ravensworth

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the original three novels of famed erotica author Olivia M. Ravensworth are back in print! In The Mistress of Castle Rohmenstadt, young Katherine inherits a secluded castle deep the in forests of Eastern Europe. Within these dark stone walls, the outwardly innocent American finds mystery piled upon mystery. What motivates the avuncularly smirking butler, the saucy twin chambermaids, and the other servants who cater to Katherine s increasingly unashamed whims? Why does it grow so easy for the once-shy girl to explore her every desire, to punish her shapely twin French brunettes so intimately for any seeming slight, to demand more, ever more? Exactly what kind of man was the ancient, distantly related benefactor who set up such a household of perversion? And to what secret does the locked door at the base of the northeast turret lead...? The Desires of Rebecca follows a runaway of Elizabethan England, a waif cast out when another girl s father stumbles upon their amorous dallying. Sobbing and ashamed, and with her naked flesh cut by the shocked man s savage lash, Rebecca must flee. From the idyllic countryside of Devon, to the caravan of a Gypsy girl who understands her all too well, to the shadowy back alleys of the most sordid lanes of London, the once-sheltered blonde must make her way in a wide, threatening world. When in a sailors dive she meets an enigmatic redhead who commands an all-female crew of buccaneers, it seems Rebecca might have found her place at last. And yet her stern Captain may very well be as cruel a mistress as the raging sea...Domestic Service shows what happens when a middle-aged yet still passionate couple find themselves with an empty nest. Seemingly out of the blue, Alan s wife urges him to hire a live-in domestic, and though he is diffident, he cannot resist her growing entreaties. With surprising swiftness, then, Janet has found a slinky, dark-eyed doctoral student witty and lovely and sly. It is too, too coincidental, and yet except for his own sudden primal surge of attraction, Alan has no objections he can raise. The three fall into a cozy life together, and yet when the faithful man comes to believe it is growing dangerously cozy, he suddenly realizes that he doesn t even know the half of it...

528 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2014

Reviews

[Jim Lyon]

The Mistress of Castle Rohmenstadt is the first of three novellas written circa mid 1990s now being re-released by Pink Flamingo Publishing as an anthology entitled The Classic Olivia Ravensworth. Although reasonably well-written, it is basically an erotic fantasy with very little plot but nearly non-stop sexual escapades. The story involves a twenty-year-old American woman who inherits the estate of her great-great uncle; the only condition of receiving her inheritance is that she resides in the family castle in Eastern Europe.

Although she is a chronic masturbator, Katherine is a virgin. Not out of prudishness mind you, she simply hasn’t found the right person or circumstance worthy of crossing that threshold. Upon waking after her first night in the castle, her twin French chambermaids subtly pleasure her to orgasm. This is the first time she has climaxed at the hands of anyone other than herself, and she has mixed feelings about enjoying lesbian sex despite being resolutely heterosexual.

That first Sapphic experience proves to be tame compared to what is to follow. Not only are there numerous increasingly intense sexual adventures between Katherine and the naughty twins, Katherine indulges in suckling the lactating breasts of the castle’s cook and presiding over a lesbian orgy orchestrated by her servants.

She immerses herself in her late uncle’s extensive collection of print and video pornography, and soon thereafter gradually begins openly masturbating in front of her staff and watching them while they engage in varied sexual activities with one another. She even starts inflicting light corporal punishment on her chambermaids, primarily because they refuse to reveal why her requests to have sex with a man are seemingly ignored.

To appease her somewhat, they arrange a heterosexual orgy for her to watch. Finally, she gets her wish when Hans, a hunk who has been genetically programmed for longevity by Katherine’s uncle, shows up and tells her of her uncle’s hope for them to become a couple, and “Oh, by the way, I love you.” They have sex and post haste the story wraps up with a grand wedding – HEA implied strongly.

Whereas this book has plenty of naughtiness – an important feature in an erotic book to be sure – it is lacking in substance. The story just drifts from one sexual scenario to another before ending suddenly. Many readers may find the somewhat florid language used to describe the details of the numerous sexual exploits a bit off-putting. To her credit, Ms. Ravensworth utilizes a vast array of euphemisms and metaphors with minimal repetitions. The bondage and corporal punishment kink is well done yet rather genteel. I opted not to read the remaining two novellas in this package after skimming them and determining that they appeared similar in quality to The Mistress of Castle Rohmenstadt, though with totally different themes.