16. Wives may have been expected to behave like ladies, but there was no shortage of naughty books to keep them informed and titillated
For the entirety of the Victorian era, women – or at least middle and upper-class women – were supposed to act and behave like ‘ladies’. This meant that, even if they did enjoy a healthy and adventurous lives in the bedroom with their husbands, they were strongly discouraged from talking about this part of their lives in polite society. Even among close friends, the subject of carnal knowledge was strictly taboo. Needless to say, then, that any woman caught reading erotica or looking at pornography would have been the subject of scandalous gossip and could expect to be socially shunned.
However, there were ways around this. From the mid-19th century onward, a certain type of book started appearing on the bookshelves of literate, upper-class ladies. With titles such as Advice For The Maiden Wife And Mother or The Godly Marriage, these were not always as pure and innocent as the titles suggested. Some contained graphic ‘how-to’ guides, along with tips on giving and receiving pleasure. Some even contained suggestive, or even graphic, illustrations. This allowed women to enjoy the titillation of pornography without the risk of being shamed by society. Needless to say, many such publications sold very well, especially in London.
