Fanny Hill. Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure #1012459

London, mid-18th century. A 15-year-old orphan from the countryside, innocent and naive, arrives in the big city: thus begins one of the most scandalous novels in English literature.

Reportedly written in a debtors’ prison, Fanny Hill was banned almost immediately, circulated clandestinely for generations, and even ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1966. Its true audacity, however, lies in its portrayal of desire without a single vulgar word, using elegant metaphors and irony. It is Fanny herself who speaks, recounting her life in two long letters with a surprisingly modern candor.

The book no one was supposed to read. And that’s exactly why everyone read it.