Memoirs of an Oxford scholar

by John Cleland

Of all of John Cleland's novels, Memoirs of an Oxford Scholar is the one that has been suppressed for the longest time. The notorious Fanny Hill has been called the most famous banned book of all time and yet it has been more or less freely available to the interested reader since its initial publication in 1749. Memoirs of a Coxcomb, the sequel to Fanny Hill, has been similarly available. This edition of Memoirs of an Oxford Scholar will introduce readers to a ribald masterpiece too long suppressed and will add dimension to the already considerable reputation of its author, John Cleland. John Cleland (1709-1789) was educated at the Westminster School. He spent his early adulthood in Smyrna as British Consul and in India as an employee of the British East India Company. He later returned to England where he devoted himself to the study of philology, writing essays on the nature of language and contributing columns to the Public Advertiser.

Genres: Erotica

157 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2002

About the author

John Cleland (1709 – 1789) was an English novelist, most famous—and infamous—as the author of the erotic novel Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure.

He was born in Kingston upon Thames in Surrey but grew up in London, where his father was first an officer in the British Army and then a civil servant; he was also a friend to Alexander Pope, and Lucy Cleland was a friend or acquaintance of both Pope, Viscount Bolingbroke, Chesterfield, and Horace Walpole. The family possessed good finances and moved among the finest literary and artistic circles of London.

Cleland entered Westminster School in 1721, but he left or was expelled in 1723. His departure was not for financial reasons, but whatever misbehavior or allegation had led to his departure is unknown. Historian J. H. Plumb speculates that Cleland's puckish and quarrelsome nature was to blame, but, whatever caused Cleland to leave, he entered the British East India Company after leaving school. He began as a soldier and worked his way up into the civil service of the company and lived in Bombay from 1728 to 1740. He returned to London when recalled by his dying father. Upon William's death, the estate went to Lucy for administration. She, in turn, did not choose to support John.