The Trial of Lady Chatterley: Regina V. ...

I first started keeping a reading journal when I was in Denmark in 2000.  I was lucky enough to be in Copenhagen for a month or so.  There had been a used book sale near the Round Tower.  I think it was some local college.  There were quite few English books there, including some of the old orange and white Penguins.    I picked up several books including Lady Chatterley’s Lover (orange cover) and the Penguin publication of the trial, where Penguin was sued by the Crown for publishing the book.  I read Lawrence’s book first and then read the trial.  I was two years out after my masters and done my first year teaching, and I didn’t want to underline the book because it was old.  So, I brought a notebook and began to take notes.  The trial was in 1960.

                There was a man named Graham Hough who answered a prosecutor’s question about authors quoting, “From my knowledge of the habits of authors, it is the last thing I would except for them to quote accurately.  They do it from memory and they always get it wrong.”   It isn’t only a comment on authors, the concerns that we have today about the influence of media on children are also very upfront.  It is depressing when one reads testimony like that of Dr James Hemming who mentions how both girls and boys are led to believe certain things about sex.  Or to read Miss Dilys Powell comment about how the book is less damaging than those shows on television.  She said, “and a great deal of the contemporary cinema seems to degrade the whole sanctity of sex, treating it as something trivial.  But in Lawrence’s book, which has great elements of sacredness, sex is taken as being something to be taken seriously and as a basis for a holy life” (150).  Today there would be people who would take issue with her statement.  Yet, she does have a point.  It is both refreshing and depressing to see that people wrestling with the same issues that we do today.  Refreshing because at least we’re not goofing it up but depressing because we have not solved it yet.

                Penguin does stand by authors, for the most part.  They also went to court when they and historian Deborah Lipstadt were sued by David Irving. Additionally, they published the decision of that trial as well.

                What seemed to have been noteworthy to me at the time was the amount of people that Penguin called and the fact that the persecution didn’t call any which does leave one to wonder if the Crown was even trying.  Cecil Day-Lewis and apparently outed himself as the mystery writer Nicholas Blake at the trial.  This impressed me and I still wonder what people thought about that bit.  Considering the kerfuffle that happened when it came out that Rowling was using a pen name for her Strike books.

                Today, Lawrence’s book is overlooked as people get more concerned about book concerning penguins who raise a chick.  But the question I asked in the writing journal is still good today, do people still fear what is in books because the printing press changed everything, made knowledge more widely accessible?

UPDATE 09-12-17: Tower of dawn is one of the MOST read NEW ADULT READ THIS WEEK , MAAS HAD ALSO ONE OF THE MOST READ BOOKS IN THE EROTICA GENRE LAST WEEK 

I took screenshots, because those lists change every week. THRONE OF GLASS ISN'T A YOUNG ADULT SERIES even though they toned down the erotic scenes for this book. Young adult hasn't ever been a sexless genre contrary to popular belief, but Maas books are NEW ADULT and her content is erotic, not just graphic, it's erotic. 



UPDATE 09-15-17
Please check my friend Emer's review. I agree with her review
in so many accounts
Emer's A court of wing and ruin review

ORIGINAL RANT

NOT A SINGLE SERIES WRITTEN BY SARAH J. MAAS IS REALLY A YOUNG ADULT SERIES. All are new adult/adult and, in the case of A Court of Mist and Fury, erotica/erotic romance

Don't let some booktubers, Kirkus reviews, common sense media or some goodreads users tell you otherwise. They might have their own reasons to lie about this issue but trust only the reviews where the reviewers are willing to mention that this book isn't young adult or that mention the sexual content.

I repeat

NONE OF SARAH J. MAAS SERIES IS YOUNG ADULT. Perhaps book 1 and 2 of the throne of glass series have some young adult elements, but the rest of the book in the series is new adult. 

One more time I'll say this just because I still get reports of 12-13 YO kids reading A Court of Mist and Fury and also several libraries and bookstore have shelved Maas books in the YA section.

THRONE OF GLASS IS A NEW ADULT SERIES EXCEPT FOR THE FIRST TWO BOOKS, the rest is heavy on adult content. If any BOOKTUBER, Book blogger or Goodreads user (PLUS COMMON SENSE MEDIA AND KIRKUS REVIEWS) tells you otherwise it's because they are lying through their teeth. Don't trust them. Do your own research. You can start by reading pages 21, 22, 530, 531, 532, 533 of the harcover american version of A Court of Mist and Fury


Be careful if you're planning on giving any of Maas series as a book gift to an underage reader. It will make you look like a pervert because it's like giving Fifty shades of Gray. No I'm not exagerating. Several HONESTgoodreads users have mentioned Sarah J. Maas sexual scenes in their book reviews. Of course those reviews aren't visible as honest reviewers are rarely popular.

If sexual content doesn't bother you or you are of age then I think you are okay reading both series. I think A court of thorns and roses is the best one of the two. 

If you don't feel comfortable reading sexual content, or you aren't of age yet to read sexual content avoid the Throne of glass series and the A court of thorns and roses series.

If any teacher or librarian is reading my review, please be aware that trusted websites like Goodreads, Common sense media and Kirkus reviews have covered up the information regarding the sexual content and genre of Maas books.Maybe by mistake. But don't let them fool you. 

A COURT OF MIST AND FURY (book 2 of ACOTAR) A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN (book 3 of ACOTAR) EMPIRE OF STORMS (book 5 of Throne of glass) and TOWER OF DAWN (book 6 of Throne of glass) AREN'T SUITABLE FOR UNDER 18 READERS 

All Sarah J. Maas series are new adult, meaning that they portray certain themes of the young adult genre but their characters are older and the violence and the sex are more in tune with adult reads. Most libraries and bookstores don't have a new adult section so Maas books should go to the adult section even though they are new adult. 

More on what New adult is HERE (Notice that SJM books are among the most read of the new adult genre)



New Adult fiction bridges the gap between Young Adult and Adult genres. It typically features protagonists between the ages of 18 and 30.

The genre tends to focus on issues prevalent in the young adult genre as well as focusing on issues experienced by individuals between the area of childhood and adulthood, such as leaving home for university and getting a job.

New adult is typically considered a subcategory of adult literature rather than young adult literature. Some popular new adult titles include The Magicians by Lev Grossman, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowel

Bloomsburry Children, the publishing company, has added some warnings in some editions in some countries. Those warning aren't present in all the editions of Maas books so be careful. If possible, Spread the voice, because pornographic content is often used by child abusers to lure their victims. Please don't let these books stand in the children section of your local bookstore.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Some GR librarians will tell you that content and age of a book won't matter for a book to be considered as long as a young adult imprint is behind the publication of said book. 

Don't believe them. Fifty shades of grey and in this case Fifty shades of fae won't ever be young adult books even if there's a "children" imprint behind it. Besides Children and young adult are different genres so the deceiving name of the publishing company doesn't count if they are going to publish erotic content.

Also please don't comment in my review telling me "I'm x years old and I'm not disturbed by erotic content" or "I'm a parent and I let my kids read fifty shades of grey". Good for you but even if what you said was true, everyone is different. Some kids can handle adult content others can't, some 9-13 YO will keep buying books in the YA section of the bookstores and libraries because parents have the wrong impression (maybe because there are so many YA books turned movie) that YA is a sexless genre safe for 9-14 YO to read. Which in the case of Sarah J Maas and other New adult authors isn't the case.





I took those screenshots from this list:
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/most...

UPDATE 09-19-17
Thanks to Belle for sharing this picture, but how come an EROTIC/NEW ADULT series is a CHILDREN'S best seller? 


People please don't get decieved. Honest reviewers, please do your research and post a HONEST REVIEW that mentions the erotic content of the series (not this particular book) so parents, librarians, teachers and readers can make informed decisions about this series. Stop covering up for the publishing company.

04-22-2018
I understand Goodreads censoring my review to hide it from the main page as it seems they are playing into Bloomsburry agenda. But why hide it from my friends? I think it's responsibility of parents and readers to research what the content of a book is before buying/reading.  That's not a responsability of authors or publishers. But how are we the readers supposed to do that when Goodreads, Common sense media and some booktubers are so bent into hiding the information? Please Goodreads employees and editors, don't make it difficult for us the readers to find the appropiate information. Your DECISIONS should be considering ALL goodreads members's best interests in mind, not just a few authors and publishers interests in mind.

Just something I got reminded of because someone just liked one of my reviews over on goodreads where I am just for a few groups and stubborn friends.  [I thought I had pulled all my reviews from goodreads and Amazon, my gr profile showed zero reviews (I used to have several thousand reviews), -- yet, lo and behold goodreads was showing my review of A Discovery of Witches to be liked (although not showing it in "my books" nor in number of reviews on my profile.]. WTF???

Don't get me wrong, of course goodreads and other sites/businesses are smart to make a big to-do of all milestones.  So this months' (year?) ago milestone announcement of 50 million reviews wasn't exactly strange.

Except I'm still a bit surprised and a bit bittersweet that the 20 to 25+ million members* on goodreads wrote only 50 million reviews.  I know that's not necessarily averaging only two reviews per member (and that many members just don't review or even use goodreads after joining).  But what a low level of activity compared to before Banned Books Week back when Amazon took over with censorship driving us here and other book sites.

From what I see, most goodreads members who do write reviews are rather prolific about it.  My friends and followed reviewers on goodreads are more indicative of the genres I read than the reviewers on the whole site, but most if they do review have written a minimum of 25 reviews and a rough estimate average glancing at a few profiles is 125 reviews.  I'd expect the author review circles alone could have written more than the 50M touted.

Goodreads must really have lost a lot of reviewers, including some considered the top in the country (not me, I'm not very prolific about reviewing what I read).  Too bad more of them aren't moving to or at least also participating on booklikes.

*I have no idea how many members goodreads currently has; every now and then a staff member posts something talking about 20+, 22+ or even once 25 million.  

"A few Columbia students want warnings on Ovid. What's next? Here's what Literature Fascism would look like."