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

Save to Bookshelf

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 Fanny is promptly abandoned by the young woman upon reaching the city.

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

1950 words

Citation: Byrne, Peter. "Fanny Hill, or, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 June 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5205, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

Save this article

Leave Feedback