After Fifty Shades of Meh, Richardson-Reared Anne Rice is Putting the Bang in BDSM

After Fifty Shades of Meh, Richardson-Reared Anne Rice is Putting the Bang in BDSM

By Brentney Hamilton Tue., Jul. 17 2012 at 7:00 AM

New covers keep the bodice ripping under wraps.

I won't claim to understand much about the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon, though not because I have moral or personal objections to the subject matter. In fact, I'd posit that the key to world peace lies not in economic policy or cultural diplomacy so much as a few good (healthy, consensual) shags for all.

But, I do find offensive the idea of repackaged Twilight fan-fiction, sold as kink and featuring a female character who identifies as "submissive" based on rote gender stereotypes that are one-dimensional and contain little nuance. Not to mention that its author, E.L. James, is pulling down $1.34 million per-fucking-week, thanks to a protagonist whose most distinct personal identifier is the eloquent catch phrase, "Holy crap."

So, prompted by a friend's recent email regarding as much, I took to the intertubes where I quickly learned women have been commenting, blogging, raving about and re-discussing Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty trilogy, a trifecta of kink written under a pen-name and initially published between '83 and '85.

Rice is, of course, best known as the original vampire lady (team Lestat, y'all!) who spent her formative years in North Texas at Richardson High before marrying her high school sweetheart in Denton.

As it turns out, Rice's camp just relaunched the series with a new preface and what publicist Liz Keenan calls updated jackets that speak "more to the new generation of erotica readers." In other words, you can read them without the risk of being kicked off a Southwest flight.

Rice's trilogy was written and thrived -- underground -- during the notoriously conservative 1980s, and the relaunch seems shrewd in its timeliness. Rolling off of James' success, but in bolder tones, Rice's erotica -- originally published under the pseudonym A.N. Roquelaure -- hits a scene where women are reminded daily that frank and honest expressions of sexuality amount to moral turpitude of the basest degree. With regard to Fifty Shades of Grey, my friend - who is, in fact, a "mommy" - says that the "love story is sweet," but that she kept reading the "juicy" parts thinking, "been there, done that." If the relatively tame Fifty Shades of Grey series can be considered kink in this climate, the Roquelaure books are poised to foment revolution.

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anne rice, books

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JanetWHardy

The "Beauty" books rocked my world back in the '80s, when the worldwas still arguing over the author's real name (I remember an article inVogue, I think, positing that it was Joyce Carol Oates). Because of them, I began writing my own erotica. Because of them, I went on toauthor or co-author eleven books about alternative sexualities, and tofound a publishing company that published dozens more (many of which areflashing in my sidebar as I write this). If you've read "SM 101" or"The Bottoming Book," thank Anne Rice.And it's crucial here to note that the reason these books made me catch fire when their predecessors ("Story of O" and all the pseudo-Victoriana) had not done so was specifically because they were pansexual and because they wereextreme - like my fantasies. Rice had put on paper the sort of thing Idreamed about, and I never looked back.Janet W. HardyEditorial Director, Greenery Press

Pat Powers

You fail to mention that the characters in the Sleeping Beauty books are teens, IIRC early teens, 12-15 years old, and that they are subjected to heavy BDSM and not particularly consensually. They're a whole different animal than the 50 Shades books and I doubt they will be all that popular in their re-release. The key to 50 Shades' success is that the books are in fact romances, at the center of them is a real romantic relationship between Ana and Christian. Nothing like that in the Sleeping Beauty books, though I do not think I was able to read much past the first one, as they were not at all to my tastes.

peace2585

what's the difference between a 15 yr old and Anastasia Steel, a 21 yr old who is the most virginal virgin?.And plz don't say at least at 21 she's legal because it is a story. It isn't real life.Unless the teen is living under a rock or is saving their self for marriage. No teen today , is this blind sexually. Personally I found to 50 shades to be the worse romance novel I've ever read. I personally read the Beauty Triology before I was of legal age and I enjoyed it emensly. Not because of the erotic scenes but because of the story. 50 doesn't even come close to a harlequin let alone an anne rice novel or twilight. It lacks in story quality and I personally don't know how it can even be considered BDSM. It is so vanilla to use a term from the book. They were not your taste because your vanilla and cannot open your eyes to something "different" something you may not be into yourself but could open your eyes to see why others may be interested. Personally, BDSM would never be something that I would be into either but I would never poo poo on it for someone else. specially two consenting adults. Not everyone is vanilla like you and me yet you feel that you need to put your two cents in saying that 50 sades is about the love story between Christian and Ana. please! If that were so, its a very weak love story. You must not read novels very often or have no imagination at all whatsoever.