THE STORY BEHIND ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL NOVELS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

A richly detailed look at Histoire d’o from its original publication in 1954 to the present. Author Reese Saxment situates O in the cultural, literary and political world of Paris during the decade after liberation, and explores how the novel is informed by Surrealist thinking, and can be read as a Surrealist text. Story of O: Eros, Paris & Surrealism is scintillating literary scholarship that breathes new life into this groundbreaking novel.

In 1954 a controversial book was published in Paris – Story of O, by ‘Pauline Réage’ – the first truly erotic novel by a woman writer in modern times – a distinction for which it has been both celebrated and condemned ever since.

The Paris in which Story of O appeared was a city simultaneously in the throes of political crisis and brilliant cultural revival. As it struggled to recover after the Second World War, the onset of the Cold War polarised French politics into power-blocs of the right and the Communist left. But between these poles a renaissance of literary and philosophical movements flourished, all conscious of the need for a ‘Third Way’.

Prominent in this renaissance was a revitalized interest in érotisme noir, Existentialism, Feminine Humanism, and new waves in psychoanalysis, Surrealism and mysticism. It was in this cultural resurgence that Story of O was written and published. The woman who masqueraded as ‘Pauline Réage’ was herself a figure of considerable significance in the French literary world, and her novel provides a touchstone for all of the cultural movements thriving in Paris at the time – particularly Surrealism.

Ever since, in the continuing struggle between life, love and liberty, and suppression, prohibition and censorship, Story of O still lights a way forward toward freedom of imagination, expression and desire.

Story of O: Eros, Paris & Surrealism
Reese Saxment
Trade paperback; 418 pp., Illustrated; $16.95
ISBN 979-8-9894330-1-8

available worldwide on Amazon

“…Reese Saxment’s Story of O: Eros, Paris & Surrealism is model of cultural history and literary studies: broad in his scope, intelligent and even-handed in his assessment, and entertaining in his retailing, to boot.” —THE BOOK BEAT

NEW REVIEW BY STEFAN PRINCE

“All in all, this is a thoroughly researched, full, and dare I say, formidable book. All praise to Saxment and Black Scat for managing to publish the book in the summer of Story of O’s first appearance 70 years ago this month. It deserves full praise, a hard cover and a wide readership.”

CLICK HERE to read the full review

“Reese Saxment’s Story of O: Eros, Paris & Surrealism is an excellent work of historical and cultural research, telling not merely the story of how a dirty book came to be published but providing crucial contextual evidence and assessment about the larger political-historical events that shaped Story of O’s ethical concerns, as well as its longer-term effects and the ways in which it continues to be plumbed by scholars for its psychological depths.”
—Tom Bowden, The Book Beat

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“I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it to be extremely thought-provoking.
The historical, cultural and surrealistic context is superbly researched and encyclopedic in its scope. The section on feminism is particularly good.” —Tracy Thursfield

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”… a detailed adventure and a mesmerizing read.”
— John Welson