John Cleland, Fanny Hill, or, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure

Peter Byrne (Independent Scholar - North America)

Ed. by Janet Todd, University of Cambridge
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1748 - 1749

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Published in November 1748 as a means of earning its author the funds to gain release from debtor's prison, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure has attracted equal parts popularity and condemnation; only recently has it begun to be viewed as something other than a purely pornographic work. With the growing interest in the birth of genre fiction, however, the Memoirs is being recognized as one of the significant works of eighteenth-century fiction.

The novel is told in the first person. Writing in response to the request of an unidentified correspondent, Francis (Fanny) Hill narrates the events of her early life. Lured to London from her home in Lancashire by the tales of her friend Esther Davis, fifteen year-old F…

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1950 words

Citation: Byrne, Peter. "Fanny Hill, or, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 June 2002 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5205, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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