The Life and Loves was read by my parents some time during the fifties and they tried to keep the volumes hidden from us kids. I think I found one volume wrapped in brown papaer in my mother's pot-cupboard. What was I looking for?
When we first moved here around 1980 I found the Obelisk Press edition from 1954 in a second-hand shop and then later bought an Olympia Press edition of volume 5 from 1955. Until today and discovering your site I.d no idea it wasn't genuine. The Obelisk tomes were priced originally at 500 francs for vols 1 & 2 and 400 francs for 3 & 4. The Olympia Press book cost 1200 francs!
Also of interest is that the Obelisk tomes are marked "MUST NOT BE IMPORTED INTO ENGLAND OR U.S.A".
I'm currently re-reading the work as I got fed-up struggling with Proust's long sentences and fancied a bit of fun. And they are fun!
I think I must be immune to pornography(?) in print as his accounts of his sexual prowess is Munchhausian to say the least and simply entertaining - and I've always loved Fanny Hill; it's also great fun, though Moll Flanders is a far better book.
In fact as far as I can see the "pornographic" books fail not by being explicit, but by being in my experience mostly badly written and boring. So hats off to Frank.
It's also nice to see that there is some serious interest in the man; I'd no idea.
Best regards
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