I seem to vaguely remember a book called The Tutor, about very naughty goings-on in a Victorian country home, as told by a scullery maid or the like. Don’t know the author, though, and was never able to find it again after reading it in my teens.
Oh, it’s much dirtier than what gets written today, because sex in those days was such an utterly forbidden topic. The sense of joyful naughtiness that pervades Vict and Edwardian erotica gives it its appeal.
Birching? Gamahuche? I didn’t think I was all that sheltered, but what do these words mean?
Gamahuche: To practise fellatio or cunnilingus, hence gamahucher.
birching: whipping with a birch rod.
You could argue that it’s dirtier in relative terms, but I meant that just on its own merits, not taking into account the era in which it was written, it’s the same as what we see today.
Mayhaps, but I am utterly tittiliated that the protagonist of the she-noodles story in The Pearl appears to be utterly without “morals”. Bang the cousin, talk the male cousin into banging his sisters… all great fun, apparently.
And, my lecherous heart find it all quaint, but sufficiently naughy. Hehehe…
Perhaps that’s because sex hasn’t changed any. There are only so many combinations… 
I wasn’t complaining, I was expressing my surprise that it was up to the level of nasty that we see today. I was expecting it to be tame by today’s standards.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Autobiography of a Flea.
There must’ve been re-awakening of interest in Edwardian porn in the early-1970s . My college roommate owned a copy of The Pearl, and I remember National Lampoon doing a parody of My Secret Life, as written by David Eisenhower.
This stuff never goes out of print. The hallmark of a “sophisticated” gentleman’s library at any time in the 20th century was a collection of “underground” materials. Certainly there would be repositories at any major college and any jackanapes undergraduate would know where to find it.
The Lampoon staff had a long history of this. Michael O’Donoghue wrote “Pornocopia” in the very first issue of National Lampoon, giving note-perfect parodies of pornographic styles from several centuries, including “The Fin-de-Siecle British Birching Book.”
I forget whose quote this is, but it seems particularly appropriate for this thread:
“The only thing the 20th century has given to sexuality is the D-cell battery.”
Some more Victorian sex slang:
godemiche: dildo
minette: cunnilingus.
Speaking of The Pearl, its stories and serializations satirize many aspects of Victorian culture, from novels by Benjamin Disraeli to topical events to contemporary scandals - there’s even a sly dig at Queen Victoria’s parish church on the Isle of Wight. I’m pretty sure that several of the stories and poems were written by Algernon Charles Swinburne, the poet. Ages ago, I thought about doing an Annotated Pearl. Might still get around to it.
and latex, penicillin, oral contraceptives and blue diamonds
A bit post-Edwardian in setting, but try The Curious Sofa by Ogdred Weary.
What are blue diamonds?
You could also watch this.
Great movie. 
Yes, but apart from that, what’s the 20th century ever done for us?
Yes, and AIDS and internet porn and Free Love, baby. I knew someone would nitpick me, and miss the point. The quote is just a shorthand way of saying, “people have been into all kinds of freaky sex throughout history.” It is not to be taken literally.