Essential Erotica, Short List

• Philosophy in the Bedroom, Marquis de Sade

• The Way of a Man with a Maid, Anonymous

• Story of O, Pauline Reage

These are in no particular order.

There's a level of dark satire baked into BDSM erotica. If you're looking for dark satire adjacent to BDSM that doesn't have anything to do with BDSM but has been a inspiration in the community, look to Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks by Richard Strauss. This was the namesake inspiration for the "first BDSM society founded in America" The Eulenspiegel Society. If you're looking for actual kink satire look to "The Young Girl's Handbook of Good Manners" by Pierre Louÿs. If you're looking for a serious cornerstone academic book about sexual sadism and masochism look to "Psychopathia Sexualis" by Richard von Krafft-Ebing.

Curiosity does beckon, what is de Sade's philosophy of the bedroom? The Marquis' main character is Dolmance. In accordance with his thinking, "morality, compassion, religion, and modesty are all absurd notions that stand in the way of.... pleasure."

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