The Lustful Turk

It was a period when respectable members of society publicly condemned anything considered indecent by society, while at night, behind closed doors, they secretly poured over tomes of erotica from the more sensual East. This novel recounts the erotic and romantic adventures of a European lady captured and imprisoned in a Turkish harem, where she is introduced to sexual practices that would have appeared unthinkable to the Victorians, while the framing story provides accurate glimpses of customs related to morality, virginity, and marriage in Victorian England at that time. The Lustful Turk forms a crucial juncture of literature and eroticism – a fanciful tale (based to some extent on fact) in an exotic setting, and a classic of its genre. It was first published anonymously in 1828. However, it was not widely known or circulated until the 1893 edition was printed.