Teleny is an authorless and explicitly homoerotic novel often attributed to Oscar Wilde. It is an important antithesis to the prudish idealism of the neo-classic and neo-romantic lyric love poetry of the end of the century. It is a work of unmasking the cynical double moral standards of the Victorian era: The love of Camille and Teleny is shattered by social reprisals. The book was published in 1893 in 200 copies by Leonard Smithers who praised it as being "the most powerful and cleverly written erotic romance which has appeared in the English language" during that era". Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900) is a central figure in aesthetic writing. Wilde was a poet, fiction writer, essayist and editor. Oscar Wilde is often seen as a homosexual icon although as many men of his day he was also a husband and father. Wilde's life ended at odds with Victorian morals that surrounded him. He died in exile.

This homoerotic novel unmasked the cynical double moral standards of the Victorian era: The love of Camille and Teleny is shattered by social reprisals. It was originally published in 1893 by Leonard Smithers who praised it as being "the most powerful and cleverly written erotic romance which has appeared in the English language." (Adult Fiction)

Tegneserie - graphic novel. Baseret på den homoerotiske roman "Teleny" af Oscar Wilde m.fl.

"That thrilling longing I had felt grew more and more intense, the craving so insatiable that it was changed to pain; the burning fire had now been fanned into a mighty flame, and my whole body was convulsed and writhed with mad desire. My lips were parched, I gasped for breath; my joints were stiff, my veins were swollen, yet I sat still, like all the crowd around me. But suddenly a heavy hand seemed to be laid upon my lap, something was hent and clasped and grasped, which made me faint with lust. The hand was moved up and down, slowly at first, then fast and faster it went in rhythm with the song. My brain began to reel as throughout every vein a burning lava coursed, and then, some drops even gushed out——I panted—— "All at once the pianist finished his piece with a crash amidst the thundering applause of the whole theatre. I myself heard nothing but the din of thunder, I saw a fiery hail, a rain of rubies and emeralds that was consuming the cities of the plain, and he, the pianist, standing naked in the lurid light, exposing himself to the thunderbolts of heaven and to the flames of hell. As he stood there, I saw him—in my madness—change all at once into Anubis, the dog-headed God of Egypt, then by degrees into a loathsome poodle. I started, I shivered, felt sick, but speedily he changed to his own form again. "I was powerless to applaud, I sat there dumb, motionless, nerveless, exhausted. My eyes were fixed upon the artist who stood there bowing listlessly, scornfully; while his own glances full of I eager and impassioned tenderness,' seemed to be seeking mine and mine alone. What a feeling of exultation awakened within me! But could he love me, and me only? For a trice the exultation gave way to bitter jealousy. Was I growing mad, I asked myself? "As I looked at him, his features seemed to be overshadowed by a deep melancholy, and—horrible to behold—I saw a small dagger plunged in his breast, with the blood flowing fast from the wound. I not only shuddered, but almost shrieked with fear, the vision was so real. My head was spinning round, I was growing faint and sick, I fell back exhausted in my chair, covering my eyes with my hands."

On the morrow the young girl awoke as you and I have often done after a bewildering, restless, terror-haunted night, when we have been the prey of some persecuting nightmare. She was, as yet, half asleep, so she felt weary, sore, broken down, but nothing more. Her head was aching with a dull heavy pain, her body was languid, her mind bewildered, lost, but nothing more. She tossed about for some time between wakefulness and oblivion, unable to rouse herself, unable to fall asleep again, trying to collect her wandering senses. The first thing that made her feel uncomfortable was the light streaming into her room, whereupon she asked herself how it was that her shutters had been left open? Surely they were shut, or at least ajar, the evening before. In somnambulism—as in every-day life—one thought recalls another, one remembrance evokes another. Life is a chain of many links, like those Indian puzzle rings; by patient perseverance we can get them to fit into one another. It is like the game played by ten or twenty persons—where a phrase whispered from mouth to ear reaches the last hearer, entirely changed in its meaning as well as in its words. As she looked at the open window, the golden rays which poured in blinded her, and made her blink her eyes, and the casement seemed to her just then like the frame of the altar-piece, and in the iridiscent glittering light she saw the beautiful image of the saint which—for days, nay for months—had unconsciously, been haunting her, like St-George or St-Denis appeared to Jeanne d'Arc; and like all hysterical saints given to hallucinations, Sebastian now was visible to her as clearly as if he stood there in tangible flesh.

First published in 1893, this outrageous novel of homosexual love has been attributed to Oscar Wilde with varying degrees of certainty. This edition, carefully prepared from original sources in the British Library archives, is the only one on sale annotated and unabridged. Ahead of its time in its celebration of uninhibited sensual passion between men.

The Sins of the Cities of the Plain (1881) is an erotic novel attributed to Irish prostitute Jack Saul. Published by William Lazenby, a prominent printer of Victorian erotica, The Sins of the Cities of the Plain is considered to be one of the first works of literature dedicated to homosexuality in the English language. “‘Saul, Jack Saul, sir, of Lisle Street, Leicester Square, and ready for a lark with a free gentleman at any time. What was it made you take a fancy to me? Did you observe any particularly interesting points about your humble servant?’ as he slyly looked down towards the prominent part I have previously mentioned.” Having met by chance at Leicester Square, Jack Saul, a successful prostitute—colloquially known as a “Mary-Ann” or “rentboy”—agrees to accompany Mr. Cambon to his home at the Cornwall Mansions. After sharing a meal, the two men get down to business, exploring their young bodies and devoting themselves to pleasure. Curious about Jack’s past, Cambon offers him money to share the story of his life. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Jack Saul’s The Sins of the Cities of the Plain is a classic work of Victorian erotic fiction reimagined for modern readers.

__________________________ 'Seductive, decadent, cruel and utterly thrilling - just like Horace Lavelle himself. This is The Talented Mr Ripley for the twenty-first century.' Emma Flint, author of Little Deaths 'An enjoyable dip into decadence.' Observer __________________________ Brothers Benjamin and Edgar have so far led a quiet life, but change is afoot as they enter a world of glorious sights and People of Quality on their Grand Tour of Europe. But a trunk full of powdered silver wigs and matching suits isn't enough to embed them into high society. As Edgar clings on to conventions, Benjamin pushes against them. And when the charming, seductive Horace Lavelle promises Benjamin a real adventure, it's only a matter of time before chaos and love ensue. __________________________ 'A fizzing, seductive queer romance.' i Paper 'Wildly entertaining and painfully heartbreaking ... Neil Blackmore writes with a fizzy wit that bounds his characters off the page.' Ben Aldridge

Queer Between the Covers presents a history of radical queer publishing and literature from 1880 to the modern day. Chronicling the gay struggle for acceptance and liberation, the book demonstrates how the fight for representation was often waged between the covers of books in a world where spaces for queer expression were taboo. The chapters provide an array of voices and histories from the famous, Derek Jarman and Oscar Wilde, to the lesser known and underappreciated, such as John Wieners and Valerie Taylor. It includes firsthand accounts of seminal moments in queer history, including the birth of Hazard Press and the Defend Gay's the Word Bookshop campaign in the 1980s. Queer Between the Covers demonstrates the importance of the book and how the queer community could be brought together through shared literature. The works discussed show the imaginative and radical ways in which queer texts have fought against censorship and repression and could be used as a political tool for organization and production. This study follows key moments in queer literary history, from the powerful community wide demonstrations for Gay's the Word during their battle with the British government, to the mapping of Chicago's queer spaces within Valerie Taylor's pulp novels, or the anonymous but likely shared authorship of the nineteenth century queer text Teleny. Queer publishing also often involved fascinating creative tactics for beating the censor, from the act of self-publishing to anonymous authorship as part of a so-called "cloaked resistance." Collage and repurposing found images and texts were key practices for many queer publishers and authors, from Derek Jarman to the artworks created by the Hazard Press. This is a fascinating and topical book on publishing history for those interested in how queer people throughout modernity have used literature as an important forum for self-expression and self-actualization when spaces and sites for queer expression were outlawed. 

Queering the Gothic is the first multi-authored book concerned with the developing interface between Gothic criticism and queer theory. Considering a range of Gothic texts produced between the eighteenth century and the present, the contributors explore the relationship between reading Gothically and reading Queerly, making this collection both an important reassessment of the Gothic tradition and a significant contribution to scholarship on queer theory. Writers discussed include William Beckford, Matthew Lewis, Mary Shelley, George Eliot, George Du Maurier, Oscar Wilde, Eric, Count Stenbock. E. M. Forster, Antonia White, Melanie Tem, Poppy Z. Brite, and Will Self. There is also exploration of non-text media including an analysis of Michael Jackson’s pop videos. Arranged chronologically, the book establishes links between texts and periods and examines how conjunctions of ‘queer’, ‘gay’, and ‘lesbian’ can be related to, and are challenged by, a Gothic tradition. All of the chapters were specially commissioned for the collection, and the contributors are drawn from the forefront of academic work in both Gothic and Queer Studies.