- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (7 Oct 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140287426
- ISBN-13: 978-0140287424
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.4 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 902,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Delta of Venus (Penguin Modern Classics)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
This is a collection of short stories which explore the ultimate in sexual possibility, from a female angle.
About the Author
Partly of Spanish origin, Anaïs Nin was also of Cuban, French and Danish descent. She was born in Paris and spent her childhood in various parts of Europe. Her father left the family for another woman, which shocked Anaïs profoundly and was the reason for her mother to take her and her two brothers to live in the United States. Later Anaïs Nin moved to Paris with her husband, and they lived in France from 1924 to 1939, when Americans left on account of the war. She was analysed in the 1930s by René Allendy and subsequently by Otto Rank, with whom she also studied briefly in the summer of 1934. She became acquainted with many well-known writers and artists, and wrote a series of novels and stories.
Her first book – a defence of D. H. Lawrence – was published in the 1930s. Her prose poem, House of Incest (1936) was followed by the collection of three novellas, Winter of Artifice (1939). The quality and originality of her work were evident at an early stage but, as is often the case with avant-garde writers, it took time for her to achieve wide recognition. The international publication of her Journals won her new admirers in many parts of the world, particularly among young people and students. Her novels, Ladders to Fire, Children of the Albatross, The Four-Chambered Heart, A Spy in the House of Love and Seduction of the Minotaur were first published in the United States between the 1940s and the 1960s, and eventually gathered in Cities of the Interior. She also wrote a collection of short stories, Under a Glass Bell. In the 1940s she began to write erotica for an anonymous client, and these pieces are collected in Delta of Venus and Little Birds (both published posthumously). Penguin also publish A Woman Speaks, a collection of lectures and interviews; Journal of a Wife,/i>, the third volume of The Early Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1923–1927; In Favour of the Sensitive Man and Other Essays; and, most recently, The Early Diary 1927–1931, which is the fourth volume of her diary. Henry and June, a chronicle of her passionate involvement with Henry Miller and his wife June Mansfield, and Incest are the new volumes of the 'unexpurgated diary' of Anaïs Nin, distinguishable from her previously published volumes by the references to both her husband and her love life. Her books have been translated into twenty-six languages around the world.
During her later years Anaïs Nin lectured frequently at universities throughout the USA. In 1973 she received an honorary doctorate from Philadelphia College of Art and in 1974 was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. She died in Los Angeles in 1977.
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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First Sentence
There was a Hungarian adventurer who had astonishing beauty, infallible charm, grace, the powers of a trained actor, culture, knowledge of many tongues, aristocratic manners. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
There was a Hungarian adventurer who had astonishing beauty, infallible charm, grace, the powers of a trained actor, culture, knowledge of many tongues, aristocratic manners. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
68 of 69 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Delta of Venus" remains a very special work of erotic fiction. There is a glut of erotica on the marketplace these days, much of which far more obviously sexy than "Delta of Venus" - but, more often than not, the reader ends up laughing at the creaky writing and over-the-top sex scenes.
Anais Nin's book is very different. Her prose is perfurmed, intoxicating, rather than blatant, and she allows the realm of emotion to inform her stories. Although this may not sound expecially sexy in these "in your face" days, in fact Nin's work is profoundly erotic and deeply affecting. The writing is as subtle and powerful as a Debussy prelude. A feast for the senses.
46 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Delta of Venus is a spellbinding collection of short stories, each detailing a specific erotic encounter. Some of the themes are shocking; dealing with taboos that are rarely written about, but Nin writes with such sensitivity and flair that you are swept along with the adventure willingly. The images are vividly sensual and her passion for detail ensures that the reader is always captivated and involved. Nin writes from a feminine persective that will excite and intruige male readers and amaze women with her understanding of the female pysche. The characters are well-defined and herein lies her success: their personalities are the catalyst for the action. She brings them, and the situations that they find themselves in, vibrantly to life. There is something for everyone here. This is a book that will appeal to those who are looking for something more than a mindless romp: it is a beautifully written, thoughtful and most of all dazzlingly erotic book that will keep you thinking long after you have turned the last page. Nin is perhaps best known for her diaries, and Incest, the unexpurgated diary of 1932-34 is highly recommended if you are interested in getting to know the creator of Delta of Venus. The second volume in the "Journal of Love" series, Henry and June is also captivating.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm really surprised by some of the reviews and its really why I'm bothering to write one, there are a couple of good reviews by other reviewers of this book here and I'd encourage anyone browsing to read them all. I dont know how anyone could find it perverse, boring or a waste of time however and they must have missed the point altogether.
This is erotic fiction but its not a blacklace or ace or any of those other publications, Nin was commissioned to write a series of erotic pieces by a subscriber and the preface/introduction explains the scenario, being constantly encouraged to be more and more explicit and being encouraged to go into almost medical textbook detail when writing sex scenes.
Reading the book with this in mind transforms the text, its not simply amusing or entertaining in the way that other great works of erotic fiction are, like for instance Fanny Hill, or, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (Classics) but I believe provides an insight into the feminine psyche. Despite the demands of the subscriber/commissioner there are still tender moments, reflections or recollections handled in a thought provoking way, some nice twists in some of the shorter pieces like guys meeting in a bar to boastfully relating their amourous adventures and discovering they have been unwittingly involved in a greater game.
I was pleased by some of the sensitivity in style and characterisation which I would attribute to Nin as an author and a women of her time, although this could be a consequence of reading her non-erotic writing too which I was encouraged by reading this to look into. The pace I thought was good, although it is different from one tale to the other, perhaps as a consequence of the demands of the writing or genre or subscriber/commissioner like I mentioned already.
On the other hand its fair to say that the tender content suffers a bit from the need to return constantly to sex scenes, it didnt spoil it for me but it could for another reader if that's their focus. Both the writing style and I think the sexual content is in sharp contrast to that of Henry Miller, seriously so, I loved Nin's books, including her other erotic writing Little Birds (Penguin Modern Classics) but loathed Miller's books Tropic of Capricorn (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) and Tropic of Cancer (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) (even if Orwell felt they where ultimately life affirming and vervatious).
This is erotic fiction but its not a blacklace or ace or any of those other publications, Nin was commissioned to write a series of erotic pieces by a subscriber and the preface/introduction explains the scenario, being constantly encouraged to be more and more explicit and being encouraged to go into almost medical textbook detail when writing sex scenes.
Reading the book with this in mind transforms the text, its not simply amusing or entertaining in the way that other great works of erotic fiction are, like for instance Fanny Hill, or, Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (Classics) but I believe provides an insight into the feminine psyche. Despite the demands of the subscriber/commissioner there are still tender moments, reflections or recollections handled in a thought provoking way, some nice twists in some of the shorter pieces like guys meeting in a bar to boastfully relating their amourous adventures and discovering they have been unwittingly involved in a greater game.
I was pleased by some of the sensitivity in style and characterisation which I would attribute to Nin as an author and a women of her time, although this could be a consequence of reading her non-erotic writing too which I was encouraged by reading this to look into. The pace I thought was good, although it is different from one tale to the other, perhaps as a consequence of the demands of the writing or genre or subscriber/commissioner like I mentioned already.
On the other hand its fair to say that the tender content suffers a bit from the need to return constantly to sex scenes, it didnt spoil it for me but it could for another reader if that's their focus. Both the writing style and I think the sexual content is in sharp contrast to that of Henry Miller, seriously so, I loved Nin's books, including her other erotic writing Little Birds (Penguin Modern Classics) but loathed Miller's books Tropic of Capricorn (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) and Tropic of Cancer (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) (even if Orwell felt they where ultimately life affirming and vervatious).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Spellbinding
I first read Delta of Venus at school in 2002, and since then I have been absolutely captivated by the erotic encounters in this work. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Falco
Utterly Unsexy
A totally unsexy read. I fail to appreciate the excellent ratings this sexless book has garnered. Written by the renowned Nin, this should be an exquisite book of the past. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kokino
Wildly... uneven...
I've been trying to re-read some of the books of my youth, in part to determine how my perspective has changed over the years. Read more
Published 4 months ago by John P. Jones III
Awful
This is one of the worst books that I have ever read. Nin is a good writer, I'll give her that, but any well adjusted individual will find the themes unacceptable in this day and... Read more
Published 6 months ago by ladybug
Seriously weird and not sexy
I bought this book to read it with my boyfriend before we go to bed, and thought it would be quite sexy, but actually these short stories are so weird, and sometimes disturbing... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Laura82
Hmmmm
I'm half way through this book and found some of the stories troubling. I'm wondering what is the purpose of the book. Is it to describe the peverse world we live in. Read more
Published 21 months ago by CustomerC
CHARMING BUT DATED
The Delta of Venus must have been seriously shocking back in the thirties and forties, but is less so in the 21st century when it probably would not add to the sexual knowledge of... Read more
Published 23 months ago by J. Priestley
Eye Opening Tales With More To Say Than Meets The Eye Initially
As Anaïs Nin states herself in the preface of `Delta of Venus' this collection was never really intended to be published, in fact when these tales were originally written they were... Read more
Published on 26 May 2010 by Simon Savidge Reads
Five Stars
"This is just a classic. A beautifully written and sensual novel about lust, desire and female sexuality in the form of a collection of shorts. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2010 by mark farley
Steeped in intrigue and sauce.
In some people's eyes I can imagine this book should be banned or even burned. However I found it fascinating that there ever was a time that these sort of things could go on... Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2010 by Mr. P. Johnson
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