The Sins of the Cities of the Plain
Encyclopedia
The Sins of the Cities of the Plain; or, The Recollections of a Mary-Ann, with Short Essays on Sodomy and Tribadism is a pornographic book written anonymously under the pseudonym
"Jack Saul", one of the first exclusively homosexual pieces of pornographic literature ever written in English. It was first published in 1881
by William Lazenby
who printed 250 copies; a further edition was produced by Leonard Smithers
in 1902. It has been suggested that it was largely written by James Campbell Reddie
and the painter Simeon Solomon
, who had been convicted of public indecency in 1873 and disgraced. Set in the form of a series of confessional essays, it tells the tales of Jack Saul, a young rentboy or "Mary-Ann", stated to have been sold to one of his clients, Mr Cambon, for approximately ₤20 an installment. The author's name is that of a male prostitute who later featured in the Cleveland Street scandal
, and other participants in that affair appear as characters. Although the book appears to be mainly fiction, Henry Spencer Ashbee
, who catalogued it, suggested that the characters Boulton and Park
might have been known to the author in real life. Boulton and Park were a real life duo of Victorian transvestites who appeared as defendants in a celebrated court case of 1871. In the story Jack Saul in the guise of "Miss Eveline" recounts how he meets Boulton ("Miss Laura") and Park dressed up as women at Haxell's Hotel in the Strand
with Boulton's lover and "husband" Lord Arthur Clinton trailing along behind. Later on Jack spends the night at Boulton and Park's rooms in Eaton Square
and the next day has breakfast with them "all dressed as ladies".
Pornographic bookseller Charles Hirsch
claimed that this was one of the "socratic" books that he had sold to Oscar Wilde
in 1890.
Morris Kaplan points out that the Masquerade "Badboy" edition is an adaptation of the 1881 original which has changed the sex of almost all the female characters, added and deleted scenes: the title has also dropped the definite article.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
"Jack Saul", one of the first exclusively homosexual pieces of pornographic literature ever written in English. It was first published in 1881
1881 in literature
The year 1881 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* March 4 - A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes story, begins.* The first of the three-volume History of Woman Suffrage, was published by Susan B...
by William Lazenby
William Lazenby
William Lazenby was an English publisher of pornography active in the 1870s and 1880s. He used the aliases Duncan Cameron and Thomas Judd...
who printed 250 copies; a further edition was produced by Leonard Smithers
Leonard Smithers
Leonard Smithers was a London publisher associated with the Decadent movement. Born in Sheffield, he worked as a solicitor, qualifying in 1884, and became friendly with the explorer and orientalist Sir Richard Francis Burton. He published Burton's translation of the Book of One Thousand and One...
in 1902. It has been suggested that it was largely written by James Campbell Reddie
James Campbell Reddie
James Campbell Reddie was an 19th-century collector and author of pornography who worked for the publisher William Dugdale, also writing as "James Campbell"...
and the painter Simeon Solomon
Simeon Solomon
Simeon Solomon was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter-Biography:...
, who had been convicted of public indecency in 1873 and disgraced. Set in the form of a series of confessional essays, it tells the tales of Jack Saul, a young rentboy or "Mary-Ann", stated to have been sold to one of his clients, Mr Cambon, for approximately ₤20 an installment. The author's name is that of a male prostitute who later featured in the Cleveland Street scandal
Cleveland Street scandal
The Cleveland Street scandal occurred in 1889, when a homosexual male brothel in Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia, London, was discovered by police. At the time, sexual acts between men were illegal in Britain, and the brothel's clients faced possible prosecution and certain social ostracism if discovered...
, and other participants in that affair appear as characters. Although the book appears to be mainly fiction, Henry Spencer Ashbee
Henry Spencer Ashbee
Henry Spencer Ashbee was a book collector, writer, and bibliographer, notorious for his massive, clandestine three volume bibliography of erotic literature written under the pseudonym of Pisanus Fraxi.-Life:...
, who catalogued it, suggested that the characters Boulton and Park
Boulton and Park
Ernest Boulton and Frederick William Park were two Victorian transvestites and suspected homosexuals who appeared as defendants in a celebrated trial in London in 1871, charged "with conspiring and inciting persons to commit an unnatural offence"...
might have been known to the author in real life. Boulton and Park were a real life duo of Victorian transvestites who appeared as defendants in a celebrated court case of 1871. In the story Jack Saul in the guise of "Miss Eveline" recounts how he meets Boulton ("Miss Laura") and Park dressed up as women at Haxell's Hotel in the Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
with Boulton's lover and "husband" Lord Arthur Clinton trailing along behind. Later on Jack spends the night at Boulton and Park's rooms in Eaton Square
Eaton Square
Eaton Square is a residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is one of the three garden squares built by the Grosvenor family when they developed the main part of Belgravia in the 19th century, and is named after Eaton Hall, the Grosvenor country house in Cheshire...
and the next day has breakfast with them "all dressed as ladies".
Pornographic bookseller Charles Hirsch
Charles Hirsch
Charles S. Hirsch, born March 30, 1937, is an American forensic pathologist who has been the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City since 1989....
claimed that this was one of the "socratic" books that he had sold to Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
in 1890.
List of chapters
- Chapter I. An Introduction
- Chapter II. Jack Saul's Recollections
- Chapter III. Instructions in the Art of Pleasure
- Chapter IV. Klaus and Young Joe on the Farm
- Chapter V. The Marquis of Churton
- Chapter VI. Mr. Inslip's Private Club
- Chapter VII. Lord Arthur, "Lady Laura" and Mr. Bruce
- Chapter VIII. Breakfast with "Laura" and "Selina"
- Chapter IX. Mr. Homer and His New Valet
- Chapter X. The Earl's Grand Party
- Chapter XI. Young Winston and George Brown's Recollections
- Chapter XII. Tim, the Shoeblack
- Chapter XIII. Mr. Carton, Lord Ebert and Lord Edward
- Chapter XIV. Same Old Story: Arses Preferred to Cunts
- Chapter XV. A Short Essay on SodomySodomySodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
- Chapter XVI. Tribadism
Editions
- Jennings, James (ed.), Sins of the Cities of the Plain, New York: Masquerade Books, 1992, ISBN 1563333228
- Sins of the Cities of the Plain. [--?--]: Olympia Press, 2006, ISBN 1596542861.
Morris Kaplan points out that the Masquerade "Badboy" edition is an adaptation of the 1881 original which has changed the sex of almost all the female characters, added and deleted scenes: the title has also dropped the definite article.