Authorship of this salacious literary classic has been attributed to either of two men: William Simpson Potter, author of two books of letters on the Prince of Wales, or Edward Sellon, who produced other erotic novels. The protagonist of The Romance of Lust, Charlie Roberts, exudes an insatiable sexual appetite, to which he was initiated by early sexual encounters with siblings, governesses, and later with various friends. It was originally published in four volumes during the years 1873-1876. Due to the explicit nature of the language and nature of the novel, which often describes in graphic detail quite unrealistic sexual positions and scenarios, it was banned in the United States for some time. Scenes of various sexual activities shock even todays readers in what has become known as the quintessential erotic Victorian novel, earning the virile young Charlie Roberts the designation of hero of the Victorian sexual underground.

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