Shéhérazade by George Barbier, 1910

The Exotic “Pornography” of the Arabian Nights

The heated debates over Burton’s explicit translation of the beloved tales exposed Victorian England’s preoccupation with sex.
anti-Mormon illustration

How Victorian Writers Eroticized Mormons

Victorian anti-Mormonism meant 19th-century Americans were both fascinated and frightened by Mormons' marriage and sexual practices.
Cover of the book The Catcher in the Rye written by J. D. Salinger.
 (left) The front cover of the first issue of Playboy, December 1953 (right)

J.D. Salinger and Playboy: The Fight Against Obscenity

The Citizens for Decent Literature launched various anti-obscenity campaigns against magazines like Playboy and MAD and books like Catcher in the Rye.