Erotic Versions of Classic Novels

[kelby_lake]

A particularly controversial example would be the Wild and Wanton series, which takes the original texts but 'enhances' them by adding sex scenes.

Do people think that it is a fun/enlightening take on an old classic, or is it an insult to the original author's intentions?

[hannah_arendt]

A particularly controversial example would be the Wild and Wanton series, which takes the original texts but 'enhances' them by adding sex scenes.

Do people think that it is a fun/enlightening take on an old classic, or is it an insult to the original author's intentions?


I don`t know if it is an insult but it`s first of all stupid and meaningless.

[Dark_Twinkle]

Well I've read Angela Carter's 'The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories' which is basically twisted versions of fairy tales, and I'll be honest, I found it incredibly provocative and challenging.

I don't think it necessarily means insulting the original author's intentions - I frankly think parodies do that. But I'm leaning more towards people thinking it's "a fun/enlightening take on an old classic".

[kelby_lake]

Fairy tales are a bit different though, as there is no definitive version of any of them.

I had a read on Google Books of the Wild and Wanton Version of Mansfield Park. It is rather like Frankenstein's monster.

[chrisvia]

I assume the purpose of doing this is to generate "excitement" for the overlooked classics and thus push these texts into a sort of prominence. And sure, sex sells, even if it is in books--look at the success of Fifty Shades.

I think you will get two types of readers: those who need a deep context for the sex scenes to titillate, and those who skip directly to the sex scenes. In both cases, I think that marketing a book based on added sex scenes alone diverts the attention from the work as a piece of literature.

Then again, I came to a deeper appreciation of classics via indirect means myself, so here's to gateway drugs!

[kev67]

What sort of classics? If it was a work of romantic fiction, wouldn't it undermine the story? You couldn't have Darcy and Lizzie Bennet, or Jane Eyre and Rochester getting it on. Romantic heroines could not do that then and keep their virtue. The plots often revolve around that. I suppose you could put in a sex scene between Wickham and Lydia, but I don't see how it would add anything to the book. Still, I suppose it makes more sense than inserting zombies into the story.

[mal4mac]

They are already erotic.