The Way of a Man with a Maid
Encyclopedia
The Way of a Man with a Maid is an anonymous, sadomasochistic, erotic novel, probably first published in 1908. The story is told in the first person by a gentleman called "Jack", who lures women he knows into a kind of erotic torture chamber, called "The Snuggery", in his house, and takes considerable pride in meticulously planned rapes which he describes in minute detail.
The first of many victims lured into 'The Snuggery' to be raped is a girl called Alice, a member of Jack's social set who had earlier jilted him and on whom he takes revenge by subjecting her to a whole series of sexual acts without her consent (and without any more thought of marrying her). The very detailed description of Alice's rape, with the narrator repeatedly expressing great satisfaction at her fear and humiliation, takes the whole of the first part, called "the Tragedy". At its end, Alice had completely submitted and become Jack's willing sexual partner.
In the second part, called "The Comedy", Alice locates for Jack further victims, helps lure them to be raped in turn, and actively helps in making them sexually available to Jack. The rape scenes of Alice's servant Fanny and Alice's friend Connie follow the same pattern, with the new victim vainly protesting and resisting the gloating Jack, only to be finally converted (as Jack puts it) into a willing and eager sexual partner and an active accomplice in the rape of the next victim.
By the final episode, when the wealthy Lady Betty and her daughter Molly had been lured into the rape room, Jack need not exert himself to tie up and undress the new victims. All this dirty work is being performed eagerly by his earlier victims turned accomplices. Thereupon, mother and daughter are not only subjected to repeated rape but also forced into a long series of incest
uous acts with each other, carried out so as to inflict the very maximum of humiliation and degradation upon mother and daughter and accompanied by endless gloating and taunting from Jack and his three female accomplices.
comments that when the hero forces the heroine to remove her clothing he gloats over not her beauty but her humiliation: "The virgin is punished by carnality". It is then taken for granted sexual intercourse, even in the form of rape, will awaken any woman's sexual passions.
In addition to the "quite perverse" scenes of rape
, bondage
, mother-daughter incest
, whipping and "odd things done with feathers" in order to force women into orgasm, the book has a major element of lesbianism. The writer seems, however, to have had little knowledge of the subject, assuming that lesbian sex consists mainly of women lying on top of each other in the missionary position
, in direct mimicking of heterosexual sex.
The book can be considered to be irreverent of the British class system prevailing at the time of writing – all women, be they servants or great ladies, are "equal" in having to submit to the narrator's every sexual whim.
's Book of Proverbs
, where the wise King Solomon mentions "The way of a man with a maid" as one of the "things which are too wonderful for me, yea, which I know not". The ancient king's wonderment is manifestly not shared by the arrogantly self-assured Victorian narrator.
by H. W. Pickle & Co. in 1908. Previous suggestions that it was first published in 1895 or 1896 seem to be based on the erroneous back-dating - to 1896 - of a translation, by "the author of The Way of a Man With A Maid", of an erotic work called Parisian Frolics, which further research indicates was actually published c. 1912.
The authorship of the book is unknown and has variously been attributed to John Farmer, George Reginald Bacchus and J. P. Kirkwood.
The protagonist Jack returns in three more pastiche sequels. One of these is called A Weekend Visit, in which he "entertains" three lady friends at their house in the country – though in this case there is no rape involved, but rather two older women inviting Jack to "initiate" a younger girl into sex.
The book being anonymous and thus not copyrighted, there were variant texts with changes and additions. For example, a Hebrew translation current in Israel in the 1970s had an added "flashback" not found in the English original, according to which Molly had already undergone repeated anal rape by the doctor in her boarding school, before falling into Jack's hands
(1975) starring Sue Longhurst
as Alice and Ole Soltoft as Jack.
Sweet Sinner studios released a hardcore pornographic version of the story as A Man With A Maid – Tales Of Victorian Lust on November 18, 2009. The film stars Ben English
as Jack, Nicole Ray
as Alice, Stephanie Swift
as Fanny, Magdalene St. Michaels as Mrs. Blunt and Elexis Monroe as her daughter Molly. The film takes liberties with the story by adding a new character, "Jack's Nephew" played by James Deen
. The studio claims the title was "Filmed in a landmark Victorian Mansion. With real period Costumes and Elizabethan Dialogue".
Plot synopsis
Most of the story takes place in a room in his house called 'The Snuggery', which the narrator "Jack" converts into a kind of erotic torture chamber equipped with beds to which women can be strapped and held helpless and which is soundproofed to make their screams unheard. Other equipment includes cords and pulleys, flagellation implements and a mechanical "Chair of Treachery" to which helpless females are lured to be restrained in.The first of many victims lured into 'The Snuggery' to be raped is a girl called Alice, a member of Jack's social set who had earlier jilted him and on whom he takes revenge by subjecting her to a whole series of sexual acts without her consent (and without any more thought of marrying her). The very detailed description of Alice's rape, with the narrator repeatedly expressing great satisfaction at her fear and humiliation, takes the whole of the first part, called "the Tragedy". At its end, Alice had completely submitted and become Jack's willing sexual partner.
In the second part, called "The Comedy", Alice locates for Jack further victims, helps lure them to be raped in turn, and actively helps in making them sexually available to Jack. The rape scenes of Alice's servant Fanny and Alice's friend Connie follow the same pattern, with the new victim vainly protesting and resisting the gloating Jack, only to be finally converted (as Jack puts it) into a willing and eager sexual partner and an active accomplice in the rape of the next victim.
By the final episode, when the wealthy Lady Betty and her daughter Molly had been lured into the rape room, Jack need not exert himself to tie up and undress the new victims. All this dirty work is being performed eagerly by his earlier victims turned accomplices. Thereupon, mother and daughter are not only subjected to repeated rape but also forced into a long series of incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous acts with each other, carried out so as to inflict the very maximum of humiliation and degradation upon mother and daughter and accompanied by endless gloating and taunting from Jack and his three female accomplices.
Commentary
In his introduction to the Star edition of the book Alexis Lykiard notes its mordant humour and opines that it "is that rarity - an entertaining, funny and sexy book". Susan GriffinSusan Griffin
Susan Griffin is an eco-feminist author. She describes her work as "draw[ing] connections between the destruction of nature, the diminishment of women and racism, and trac[ing] the causes of war to denial in both private and public life." She received a MacArthur grant for Peace and International...
comments that when the hero forces the heroine to remove her clothing he gloats over not her beauty but her humiliation: "The virgin is punished by carnality". It is then taken for granted sexual intercourse, even in the form of rape, will awaken any woman's sexual passions.
In addition to the "quite perverse" scenes of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, bondage
Bondage (BDSM)
Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private bondage :...
, mother-daughter incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, whipping and "odd things done with feathers" in order to force women into orgasm, the book has a major element of lesbianism. The writer seems, however, to have had little knowledge of the subject, assuming that lesbian sex consists mainly of women lying on top of each other in the missionary position
Missionary position
The missionary position is a "man-on-top" sex position usually described as the act in which the woman lies on her back and the partners face each other. Though often acted on and applied by heterosexual pairings, it may also be used by gay and lesbian couples.The missionary position is an example...
, in direct mimicking of heterosexual sex.
The book can be considered to be irreverent of the British class system prevailing at the time of writing – all women, be they servants or great ladies, are "equal" in having to submit to the narrator's every sexual whim.
Origin of title
The book's title is derived from the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
's Book of Proverbs
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
, where the wise King Solomon mentions "The way of a man with a maid" as one of the "things which are too wonderful for me, yea, which I know not". The ancient king's wonderment is manifestly not shared by the arrogantly self-assured Victorian narrator.
Publication history
The date of first publication of The Way of a Man with a Maid is not printed in any of the early editions of this book. However, a note by a collector indicates that the first edition was published in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
by H. W. Pickle & Co. in 1908. Previous suggestions that it was first published in 1895 or 1896 seem to be based on the erroneous back-dating - to 1896 - of a translation, by "the author of The Way of a Man With A Maid", of an erotic work called Parisian Frolics, which further research indicates was actually published c. 1912.
The authorship of the book is unknown and has variously been attributed to John Farmer, George Reginald Bacchus and J. P. Kirkwood.
The protagonist Jack returns in three more pastiche sequels. One of these is called A Weekend Visit, in which he "entertains" three lady friends at their house in the country – though in this case there is no rape involved, but rather two older women inviting Jack to "initiate" a younger girl into sex.
The book being anonymous and thus not copyrighted, there were variant texts with changes and additions. For example, a Hebrew translation current in Israel in the 1970s had an added "flashback" not found in the English original, according to which Molly had already undergone repeated anal rape by the doctor in her boarding school, before falling into Jack's hands
Film adaptations
The Way of a Man with a Maid was adapted as a softcore exploitation film entitled What the Swedish Butler SawWhat the Swedish Butler Saw
What the Swedish Butler Saw is a 1974 American comedy film directed by Vernon P. Becker and starring Ole Søltoft, Sue Longhurst and Charlie Elvegård. In Victorian London a man buys an insane assylum to turn into a brothel unaware that Jack the Ripper still lives there...
(1975) starring Sue Longhurst
Sue Longhurst
Sue Longhurst is an English actress, most famous for appearing in several X-rated comedies in the 1970s.-Life and work:Born on 27 January 1943, Sue trained at the Royal Academy of Music, and was initially a music teacher, but was soon posing for magazines, record sleeves, book covers & TV...
as Alice and Ole Soltoft as Jack.
Sweet Sinner studios released a hardcore pornographic version of the story as A Man With A Maid – Tales Of Victorian Lust on November 18, 2009. The film stars Ben English
Ben English
Ben English is an English pornographic actor. He is also the founder and owner of the adult talent agency LA Direct Models. Hay "retired" from performing in the late 2000s after appearing in nearly 800 movies. Since then he has appeared in several movies, thus proving his retirement is not final...
as Jack, Nicole Ray
Nicole Ray
Nicole Ray is the stage name of an American pornographic actress.-Awards:* 2010 AVN Award nominee – Best New Starlet* 2010 AVN Award nominee – Best Oral Sex Scene - Gag Factor 29...
as Alice, Stephanie Swift
Stephanie Swift
Stephanie Swift is a former American pornographic actress who starred in over 370 adult movies between 1995 and 2009. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. Following her diagnosis and subsequent treatment, she decided to quit the adult movie industry, a move she had been considering for...
as Fanny, Magdalene St. Michaels as Mrs. Blunt and Elexis Monroe as her daughter Molly. The film takes liberties with the story by adding a new character, "Jack's Nephew" played by James Deen
James Deen
James Deen is an American pornographic actor and director. He entered the porn industry in 2004 at the age of 18. He has gained attention due to his lack of resemblance to stereotypical male actors in the pornography industry....
. The studio claims the title was "Filmed in a landmark Victorian Mansion. With real period Costumes and Elizabethan Dialogue".