Crébillon’s most famous novel in this vein, The Sofa (1742), tells the tale of an Indian aristocrat who is not only magically transformed into a divan by Brahma, but sentenced to spend his life banished between couch cushions until such time that two virgins consecrate their love “on” him. His episodic adventures as a sofa, during which he is bumped about in a variety of ways, provide the salacious content of the novel.
