FETISH

People overcome sexual oppression in titillating fashion in this collection of erotica set in the late 19th century.

It’s 1878 in Paris in the opening short story, “A Neighboring Hand.” American Camellia Zimmerfield reunites with her friend Suzette Billaud, who champions the rights of women to say and do what they want. That includes in the bedroom, and Camellia’s newfound openness gives sex with her affluent husband a much-needed jolt. This paves the way for the subsequent nine tales, all set about the same time in countries around the world. Characters like Camellia discover exhilarating fetishes or revel in the ones they’ve long harbored. For example, in “Horsing Around,” Qahhar finds inner strength when his neighbor, a horse breeder’s nurse, coaxes him into expressing himself like a constrained stallion. Similarly, an English duke in “How Do You Do Your Do” confesses what he fancies to a woman in the Swiss Alps—“I like hair,” he whispers to her, whether he’s touching it, cutting it, or just talking about it. Anonymous explores a vast array of genuine fetishes that arouse the cast, from rubber balloons and tickling to a bout of electrotherapy. Not all of it is likely to suit every reader’s taste, especially some of the harsher acts, such as a widow receiving a spanking that leaves her bottom “cherry red” and a duchess in London humiliating her servant. Still, there’s no question that they’re all consenting adults, many who demand that lovers treat them in a particular way or willingly submit (for example, France is the safe word for the widow being spanked). Moreover, the stories often end with a surprising touch of romance; some dalliances lead to marriage or, in the Zimmerfields’ case, a reaffirmation of love. The author writes explicit sex scenes that electrify and never bore even as a few tales involve not much beyond discussing and then fulfilling sexual needs.

Delightfully salacious tales that showcase a series of fetishes.