Corroded

In 1883, convinced that the unhealthily uptight Brits could use some education, Burton brought The Kama Sutra back with him, and proceeded to employ a campaign of letter-writing to associates who might be willing to risk a little jail time for the privilege of owning the first English translation of this scandalous and educational book.

Can you imagine what the letter must have said? While most consider The Kama Sutra a tell-all on sexual positions, it also includes advice regarding prostitution, some discourse on how to deal with a cheating lover, and various texts regarding love, family, and other pleasure-oriented goals for a man or woman who wants to live a full and healthy life. Do you suppose he focused more on the lotus or the living well portions in his pitch?

As it turns out, Burton wasn’t the only one with a healthy interest in sex. The requests for a copy of the book came back, and one by one, Burton had them printed and sent off.

So tickled by the contents, at least one of the recipients of The Kama Sutra duplicated his or her copy a few times, then sent that along to friends. Friends reproduced the book and passed it on, leaving a trail of scandal and sex so far and wide that when the authorities tried to trace the source, it proved too tangled a web to follow.

To recap, not only had Sir Richard Francis Burton engaged in unlawful distribution of pornographic materials, but he’d used a mass mail campaign to do so, inspired some early piracy, and got away scot free!

All the while, we hope, enlightening more than a few of those prudish Society trendsetters as to all the good stuff they’d been missing.

While the Victorian Age arguably holds the record for “most sexually repressed” in history, I would point you to all the anecdotes recorded in letters, individuals breaking the norm, and pictures of the time as a suggestion that this might be more of a widely accepted misnomer than absolute fact. It’s certainly true that the expectation of society was that of repression—that women were expected to behave a certain way, that sexuality was no fit topic for any environment, that the appearance of the thing was all that mattered. However, it’s also true that history is so often written by those who live in the time, from a position of power and influence—in more peaceful times, the equivalent of “the victors.” Whatever they wanted further generations to think of them, whatever they expected people to do, that is what they wrote. (Which bears consideration: What do you suppose future generations will think of us?)

From the prostitutes plying their wares across London, to the close-mouthed fascination among the uppercrust with all things dark and occult, to the commonplace but silent acceptance that a man—and occasionally, a woman—would “take a lover,” the obsession with sex and sexuality was never truly stamped out of the Victorian Era. This was a time when men were encouraged to develop such close bonds that their letters to each other sound more like a love letters than a shout out between bros; when women of no relation could inhabit the same home, speculated to be lovers, and simply be spoken of as if they were “aunt” and “niece”—when spoken of at all. It’s a period when we’re rather more focused on the “society” folk, so we forget that it’s also a time of great social upheaval—suffragettes willing to die for their cause, union men banding together, great scientific breakthroughs, rampant drug use, and yes, the repression of gender, class and social distinction.

When Micajah Hawke speaks of ownership and possession, is he really so far out of place as to be a deviant?

Or is it simply that he speaks of it that breaks the mores?

I’ll let you, dear reader, be the judge.

A final note: My greatest of thanks goes to Sophia McCloy, for taking the time to help me with Chinese idioms. You have inspired me to learn again. 

About the Author

After writing happily-ever-afters for all of her friends in school, Karina Cooper eventually grew up (sort of) and went to work in the real world (kind of) where she decided that making up stuff was way more fun (true!). She is the author of dark and sexy paranormal romances, steampunk adventures and crossover urban fantasies. She writes across multiple genres with mad glee. Her steampunk series, The St. Croix Chronicles, has won a Romantic Times Award and has been nominated for an RT Seal of Excellence.

One part glamour, one part dork and all imagination, Karina is also a gamer, an airship captain’s wife and a steampunk fashionista. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with a husband, a menagerie, a severe coffee habit and the fantasy of a summer home somewhere sunny. Visit her at www.karinacooper.com, because she says so.