A Night in a Moorish Harem
Encyclopedia
A Night in a Moorish Harem is an erotic novella written by "Lord George Herbert" at some time around 1900. It recounts a night spent by a shipwrecked British sailor in a Moroccan
harem
with nine concubines of different nationalities. The harem topos
is a typical example of the privileged location (Marcus's "pornotopia") and also an example of Western literary orientalism
.
In December 1923, two New York booksellers, Maurice Inman and Max Gottschalk, were arrested for selling A Night in a Moorish Harem and convicted in March 1924. However, by 1930, a prosecution in Chicago for selling the book failed, as did another in New York in 1931.
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
with nine concubines of different nationalities. The harem topos
Literary topos
Topos , in Latin locus , referred in the context of classical Greek rhetoric to a standardised method of constructing or treating an argument. See topos in classical rhetoric...
is a typical example of the privileged location (Marcus's "pornotopia") and also an example of Western literary orientalism
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
.
In December 1923, two New York booksellers, Maurice Inman and Max Gottschalk, were arrested for selling A Night in a Moorish Harem and convicted in March 1924. However, by 1930, a prosecution in Chicago for selling the book failed, as did another in New York in 1931.
See also
- The Lustful TurkThe Lustful TurkThe Lustful Turk, or Lascivious Scenes from a Harem is a pre-Victorian British erotic epistolary novel first published anonymously in 1828 by John Benjamin Brookes and reprinted by William Dugdale. However, it was not widely known or circulated until the 1893 edition.The novel consists largely of a...
- Erotic literatureErotic literatureErotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of human sexual relationships which have the power to or are intended to arouse the reader sexually. Such erotica takes the form of novels, short stories, poetry, true-life memoirs, and sex manuals...