Books That Please: ‘The French Lieutenants Woman’ and ‘Venus in India’

I have always been fond of reading. I remember the famous quote ’Reading Maketh a full man’, though off hand I cannot recollect who said it. I think it was Francis Bacon. Over the years two books have pleased me no end. That they have erotic content is beside the point. Both novels show case the period of the 19th century, often referred to as the Victorian age, when sex was talked off in hushed whispers. “Venus in India” by Charles Devereaux is the older book and concerns the exploits of an army officer in India. The man is a great lover and the book recounts his amorous adventures as he goes about seducing women and girls in the army cantonments in the North West Frontier.

The second book “The French Lieutenants Woman”is a more recent book by British writer John Fowles. It is a lovely love story which Fowles wrote, but he set the scenario in Victorian England. Incidentally this book has been recognized as one of the best books of the last century. Both books are wonderful to read. “Venus in India “is a straight forward narrative, but it brings the picture of British rule in India in the 18th century to the reader. The encounters of the Army captain with 3 sisters is the highlight and it makes wonderful reading.

John Fowles book is more philosophical and is a wonderful delineation of a romance in the 19th century England. The hero who is engaged, sees a forlorn woman while having a walk with his fiancée. Everybody claims she is a woman of loose morals, but he falls in love and discovers she is a virgin. This is the foundation of a lovely tale.