Patrick Henden

This is one of the gems of the Victorian erotica genre. This Blue Moon edition follows the one earlier issued by Grove Press, in 1982, anonymously, as 'Venus in the Country. It concerns the exploits of an orphaned young lady, Pamela, who is taken in by the Rumples, the husband initiating her into erotic pleasures until his wife's jealousy forces her out to begin a career as companion to the family of Sir Richard and Lady Belinda Bromley an aristocratic family. This entails use of the birch on their adolescent children. She becomes involved as an assistant to the local vicar and his sister, who (when they are not otherwise engaged) take it upon themselves to provide erotic enlightenment for young brides, and other local families are speedily involved. The book is entertainingly written, with many steamy scenes, and it ranks amongst the best of its genre.… (meer)

This is one of the sparkling gems of Victorian erotic literature, one of the batch reprinted by Grove Press in the 1980s, anonymously, and since by Blue Moon, under the authorship of Patrick Henden. As with most of the Grove Press collection, this one concerns a time and place in which moneyed families with country houses lived in isolation from the general populace, and were essentially idle apart from their freedom to disport themselves libidinously, one family with another. The eponymous Katherine is the adopted daughter of one such family. She enters an arranged marriage with the son of the Beresford family, an effeminate young man given to wearing female clothing. His inability to satisfy her in the marriage bed is of little consequence, however, as she finds a wealth of opportunities amongst the males (and females) of neighbouring families, and various passing travellers. Cane, whip and birch serve to stimulate and to discourage unwillingness. There are thus many opportunities for erotic encounters, involving a range of generations, in which family ties are deemed unimportant. The book begins superbly, although it does eventually descend into the formulaic devices common in the genre, including a yacht voyage and a spell in a girl's school. An excellent example of the genre which falls short of perfection only in this latter failing.… (meer)

Before the Blue Moon publishing, this appeared anonymously, in the Grove Press Victorian Library in 1985 as ‘Muriel’. It will not appeal to all seekers of erotic literature because of its uniquely atmospheric style, in which the considerable number of erotic moments are nevertheless far from explicit. If you like Henden’s rather hot-house style, this is an excellent example, but it is necessary to proceed slowly with the convoluted plot and large number of interrelated characters. The plot is built around the activities of a Victorian mother who has a son and two daughters, and whose husband no longer gives her the attention she craves. She seeks solace elsewhere, leaving her husband to the playful and fully liberated attentions of her sister and friends, who also co-operate with the mother in undertaking the sensual education of the budding younger generation. If you’re prepared to take your time, and you enjoy subtle Victorian-style prose, then this is a true gem, even a classic.… (meer)

Patrick Henden writes erotic literature which has such a strongly evocative air that it creates an illusion of intense erotic emotion almost without being specific about what precisely is going on. Laura has no real plot to speak of, beyond being a sort of diary of an extended family, including a number of servants and friends, in which erotic behaviour appears to be the main calling. It is understood that women should act submissively towards men, gratifying their every sexual whim, and that they should also seek erotic stimulus from the females they encounter daily, whether these are relatives or servants. Training, with the help of burnishings with a leather strap, or using a birch, figures largely in the maintenance of the society described here. I would imagine that the implicit sensuousness that pervades the book could simply be irritating to many readers, wishing to be more directly engaged by descriptions of sexual activity, but for those who appreciate a more poetic treatment, headily erotic, then this book will be found interesting.… (meer)