Historical inspiration

[Bramblethorn]

I'm sure there's fodder for a Literotica story or two in the life of Julie d'Aubigny (La Maupin):

On the road south, Madame de Maupin and Sérannes made a living by giving fencing exhibitions and singing in taverns and at local fairs. While travelling and performing in these impromptu shows, Maupin dressed in male clothing but did not conceal her gender. On arrival in Marseille, she joined the opera company run by Pierre Gaultier, singing under her maiden name.

Eventually, she grew bored of Sérannes and became involved with a young woman. When the girl's parents put her away in the Visitandines convent in Avignon, Maupin followed, entering the convent as a postulant. In order to run away with her new love, she stole the body of a dead nun, placed it in the bed of her lover, and set the room on fire to cover their escape. Their affair lasted for three months before the young lady returned to her family. Maupin was charged in absentia—as a male—with kidnapping, body snatching, arson, and failing to appear before the tribunal. The sentence was death by fire.

Maupin left for Paris and again earned her living by singing. Near Poitiers, she met an old actor named Maréchal who began to teach her until his alcoholism got worse and he sent her on her way to Paris.

In Villeperdue, still wearing men's clothing, she was insulted by a young nobleman. They fought a duel and she drove her blade through his shoulder. The next day, she asked about his health and found out he was Louis-Joseph d'Albert Luynes, son of the Duke of Luynes. Later, one of his companions came to offer d'Albert's apologies. She went to his room and subsequently they became lovers and, later, lifelong friends...

Her Paris career was interrupted around 1695, when she kissed a young woman at a society ball and was challenged to duels by three different noblemen. She beat them all, but fell afoul of the king's law that forbade duels in Paris. She fled to Brussels to wait for calmer times.

 

[sheablue]

I write sci-fi to avoid researching historical facts -- I can just make up my own.

But this little snippet is quite fabulous, I would read something inspired by her, absolutely.

 

[sr71plt]

I recently drew a story out Gore Vidal's background. Yesterday I invoked Rock Hudson.

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm sure there's fodder for a Literotica story or two in the life of Julie d'Aubigny (La Maupin):

Great piece, I love a woman who can kick ass in man town.

Better watch out though, there's people on lit that may report this because strong women are offensive to them.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

I enjoy historical research.

A Roaring 20s series is a future project.

 

[Carnal_Flower]

I think you should look at Sarah Waters. That story could have inspired Tipping The Velvet. She's a historian (maybe lit) turned novelist.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

She's a neat historical figure, but where's the eroticism? I mean she's bi and maybe gender-fluid, yay, but who isn't these days. She kissed girls and had sex, but again, not exactly uncommon. In other words, she's marvelously unusual for her era, but what do you do with her for a modern audience? She's a shock value story without any shock left.

I feel like this could be a Romance piece on Jezebel, where all the readers love themselves some bisexed society-defying hero chick. Here, where Annais Nin gets yawned at...

If anyone does anything historically accurate with her, be careful about the historical/underage problem.

 

[NaokoSmith]

She's a neat historical figure, but where's the eroticism?

I thought you'd decided to leave this board?

What a romantic story - just the bit where she duels a nobleman, then they fall in love. Think how you could descibe the sword-fight, as if they are making love to each stroke and thrust of the sword. And her being challenged by three noblemen at a ball, all of whom she beats. Love it!

 

[NOIRTRASH]

She's a neat historical figure, but where's the eroticism? I mean she's bi and maybe gender-fluid, yay, but who isn't these days. She kissed girls and had sex, but again, not exactly uncommon. In other words, she's marvelously unusual for her era, but what do you do with her for a modern audience? She's a shock value story without any shock left.

I feel like this could be a Romance piece on Jezebel, where all the readers love themselves some bisexed society-defying hero chick. Here, where Annais Nin gets yawned at...

If anyone does anything historically accurate with her, be careful about the historical/underage problem.

Who isn't? Me.

I always wanted girls, since I was a little guy. I noticed the same thing with my grandson, liked girls since he was 2.

Plenty imagined I was queer, because of my artistic-bent, but you'd think I'd be interested in males somewhere along the way. Nothing. When I look at a guy he could be a garbage can for all intents and purposes. But even a plain jane girl appeals to me. I had gay friends, and they say they always knew I wasn't interested. I like gays okay but don't like the pissy sissy kind.

 

[Hypoxia]

In erotica, historical inspiration should be exactly that -- inspiration, not prescription. Start with reality but embellish, extrapolate, even twist, and entertain. I have planned stories of the sexual adventures of various historical figures. The authenticity of those adventures is irrelevant so long as they amuse and/or arouse. It's just storytelling, hey?

 

[NaokoSmith]

In erotica, historical inspiration should be exactly that -- inspiration, not prescription. Start with reality but embellish, extrapolate, even twist, and entertain. I have planned stories of the sexual adventures of various historical figures. The authenticity of those adventures is irrelevant so long as they amuse and/or arouse. It's just storytelling, hey?

I know, yet I do admire authors who go the Georgette Heyer route and make their historical background carefully accurate. I am dreadfully lazy and can't be bothered to do the hard work of research. That's why I write fantasy - I find it a lot easier to make up it all up.

Although somebody said to me, they thought that was much more hard work, LOL. It does get just like research sometimes. Like, in a moment of madness I made some of the characters speak different regional dialects, which I indicated by having them say thank you or please differently. I'm always having to go back through and check which dialect this or that character is supposed to use.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

I know, yet I do admire authors who go the Georgette Heyer route and make their historical background carefully accurate. I am dreadfully lazy and can't be bothered to do the hard work of research. That's why I write fantasy - I find it a lot easier to make up it all up.

Although somebody said to me, they thought that was much more hard work, LOL. It does get just like research sometimes. Like, in a moment of madness I made some of the characters speak different regional dialects, which I indicated by having them say thank you or please differently. I'm always having to go back through and check which dialect this or that character is supposed to use.

25 years ago I usta do historical research and supply plenty of historical trivia to writers. I knew the Gettysburg battlefield so well it was like I grew up there the first time I went to the place. My brain is able to accrue photos and make detailed eidetic 'memories' of things that never happened. So my talent was popular, because I knew all the arcane, trivial details.

I'm thinking I can recreate the 20s in stories.

 

[Hypoxia]

I know, yet I do admire authors who go the Georgette Heyer route and make their historical background carefully accurate.

Accurate backgrounds, of course. And fantastic foreground action. A detailed picture of place and time to support the wildest libidinous cavortings. A photo-realistic backdrop for cartoonish depravities and exuberances. Fun.

 

[NaokoSmith]

25 years ago I usta do historical research and supply plenty of historical trivia to writers. I knew the Gettysburg battlefield so well it was like I grew up there the first time I went to the place. My brain is able to accrue photos and make detailed eidetic 'memories' of things that never happened. So my talent was popular, because I knew all the arcane, trivial details.

I'm thinking I can recreate the 20s in stories.

Your writing style would suit historical stories of that kind.

Accurate backgrounds, of course. And fantastic foreground action. A detailed picture of place and time to support the wildest libidinous cavortings. A photo-realistic backdrop for cartoonish depravities and exuberances. Fun.

Yes - great fun! Is your botanical story going to be one of those?

I have a lot of fun with my fantasy worlds, and writing fantasy means I can put utopian feminist twists in, so I won't complain about my own writing.

 

[jsmiam]

Historical erotica is a special mostly non-offensive niche, that many people are possibly uninterested in, but wont set off the angry responses that lets say category "x" would trigger in a category"x"hater. I bet the research would be appreciated by all who chose to read, though.

In other words.. Oh, wait.. What were we talking about again? Sorry, I feel asleep there taking about historical erotica

 

[Handley_Page]

It all reminds me of "Scaramouche" (Stewart Granger,)
written by Raphael Sabatini.

 

[Hypoxia]

Yes - great fun! Is your botanical story going to be one of those?

Not really. It's a romance with little if any explicit sex. These are respectable naturalists! Of course that 600-mile "botanizing along the way" honeymoon stroll has many possibilities...

The historical piece I posted that DOES follow that schema is 'Neath Western Skies, Ma! with fanciful happenings on a real canvas.

Historical erotica is a special mostly non-offensive niche, that many people are possibly uninterested in, but wont set off the angry responses that lets say category "x" would trigger in a category"x"hater. I bet the research would be appreciated by all who chose to read, though.

My 'Neath Western Skies, Ma! story is in Incest-Taboo for good reasons. Some find Incest quite offensive. I'm sure I'll offend *somebody* with my upcoming historical tales.

I didn't really need to research the background for that; I've been familiar with the landscape and lore for decades. I just hope I was able to render my mental images on paper. The hard part was translating pillow talk into Hopi.

Hmm, do time-travel-to-the-past strokers count as historical erotica? I'll have a modern traveler seeking historical folks to fuck. I'll necessarily describe the past environments, at least sketchily. Does watching movies count as research?

 

[Bramblethorn]

I think you should look at Sarah Waters. That story could have inspired Tipping The Velvet. She's a historian (maybe lit) turned novelist.

Haven't read the book but I very much enjoyed the TV adaptation of TtV.

 

[Ishkar]

I always love reading about badass women

 

[NaokoSmith]

I always love reading about badass women

You will have a high time on this board, then.

(Welcome, newbie. Don't pay attention if people post weird posts in response to yours - there are a couple of ... interesting participants on here . Borrow TXRad's shark-proof suit if you intend to upload stories in Loving Wives. Have fun, don't feed the trolls )

 

[HandsInTheDark]

Who isn't? Me.

I always wanted girls, since I was a little guy. I noticed the same thing with my grandson, liked girls since he was 2.

Plenty imagined I was queer, because of my artistic-bent, but you'd think I'd be interested in males somewhere along the way. Nothing. When I look at a guy he could be a garbage can for all intents and purposes...

I'm the same way, but my point is, most anyone under, say, 35, has already bought into accepting that gender is a fluid and malleable concept (I think that's absurd, but that's becoming a minority view). So I don't think her life, as described on Wikipedia, is by itself erotic. Fifty years ago her life would have been must-read, and there would have been gasps. Now, her sexuality... I mean she's every hentai character ever, except she's been outdone by futarami.

Maybe for me, erotic content requires opposing social norms. She's a piece of anime (rhymes with "complete crap"), and hence well inside the current mainstream; like I said, a poster child for Jezebel readers. I think I write pirates who kidnap women (Warning! Nonconsent concept! PC Freaks duck and cover!) because to hell with social norms and expectations and kowtowing to hand-wringing concepts like equality of esteem. Social norms don't make anyone's pulse race. I'm so retro I'm ahead of the curve.

 

[Hypoxia]

Maybe for me, erotic content requires opposing social norms. She's a piece of anime (rhymes with "complete crap"), and hence well inside the current mainstream; like I said, a poster child for Jezebel readers. I think I write pirates who kidnap women (Warning! Nonconsent concept! PC Freaks duck and cover!) because to hell with social norms and expectations and kowtowing to hand-wringing concepts like equality of esteem. Social norms don't make anyone's pulse race. I'm so retro I'm ahead of the curve.

I hadn't thought of it before but maybe that's part of why I write incest stories. GLBT and interracial and even BDSM are fairly mainstream. Incest still ain't. For historical inspiration, try poet Lord Byron, lover of many men and women including his own half-sister (and father of Ada Lovelace, the very first computer programmer).

Social norms evolve in time and place. Alas, in too many places, rape and non-con and familial abuse ARE nasty social norms -- not acceptable, but all too common.

What else is non-mainstream? The odder fetishes, I guess. But such have limited erotic appeal -- they're niche entertainments. My story Like A Hole In The Head about a brain-damage fetish didn't go over well here. An extreme May-December (like HAROLD & MAUDE) is still outré, as are LIT's banned subjects (underage, bestiality, snuff). But incest is the biggie.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

I hadn't thought of it before but maybe that's part of why I write incest stories. GLBT and interracial and even BDSM are fairly mainstream. Incest still ain't. For historical inspiration, try poet Lord Byron, lover of many men and women including his own half-sister (and father of Ada Lovelace, the very first computer programmer).

Social norms evolve in time and place. Alas, in too many places, rape and non-con and familial abuse ARE nasty social norms -- not acceptable, but all too common.

What else is non-mainstream? The odder fetishes, I guess. But such have limited erotic appeal -- they're niche entertainments. My story Like A Hole In The Head about a brain-damage fetish didn't go over well here. An extreme May-December (like HAROLD & MAUDE) is still outré, as are LIT's banned subjects (underage, bestiality, snuff). But incest is the biggie.

I spend too much time wondering what appeals to people and why. I know why my stuff appeals to my audience - I've got nice neat theories about evolutionary tendencies and neural wiring. But those theories don't provide a basis (that I know of) for other fetishes, like May/December, gay, incest and the set of stuff banned here.

My vague personal theory is that other than sex itself, people who like erotica are in some sense rebelling against some set of rules. I like rebelling against culture. It's a fairly minor form of rebellion; iconoclasts are a dime a dozen. My stories involve kidnapping and aggressive seduction because while history is full of it, lots of cultures have good reasons for saying no to such behaviour. Some go further and want to rebel against more fundamental constructs, like family. There's your incest. Some go further and want to rebel against biology itself - bestiality goes there, I think, and snuff.

In other words, the angrier you are about something, the more you want to see the rules gluing society, family, biology, even sanity violated. Maybe because those rules limit you, or maybe because they weren't honored by others and didn't protect you. But at some level, you want to strike back at the rules, and fantasy allows you to.

If my theory is right, a lot of people have been wronged by families (incest stories are popular, and loving wives fits in), fewer feel betrayed by humans in general (bestiality/alien sex goes there), etc. Lots of people don't feel too wronged and end up in the Romance section. Or not reading erotica at all, perhaps.

I've love a way to test the theory. I do observe that I have well-adjusted, successful friends who have no use for erotica or porn; they just don't see the point. Sobering, isn't it..

 

[Bramblethorn]

So I don't think her life, as described on Wikipedia, is by itself erotic. Fifty years ago her life would have been must-read, and there would have been gasps. Now, her sexuality... I mean she's every hentai character ever, except she's been outdone by futarami.

Not familiar with that one. Are you perhaps combining "futanari" and Futurama?

If you don't find erotic potential in her life, that's fine. We're not all required to like the same things. But quite evidently your tastes are not universal.

I think I write pirates who kidnap women (Warning! Nonconsent concept! PC Freaks duck and cover!) because to hell with social norms and expectations

Um... that is the social norm. I share a house with somebody who loves historical romances, and from what I can see "woman kidnapped by dashing scoundrel" (pirate, Viking, highwayman, Scotsman, ...) is about the most popular plot device out there.

My parents' generation call them "bodice-rippers".

 

[Carnal_Flower]

Nowadays its the Billionaire Step-brother

is[/i] the social norm. I share a house with somebody who loves historical romances, and from what I can see "woman kidnapped by dashing scoundrel" (pirate, Viking, highwayman, Scotsman, ...) is about the most popular plot device out there.

My parents' generation call them "bodice-rippers".