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{{Short description|1977 short story collection by Anaïs Nin}}
:''For the film adaption, see [[Delta of Venus (film)]]
{{For|the film adaptation|Delta of Venus (film)}}
{{Infobox book| <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
{{Infobox book| <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
| name = '''''Delta of Venus'''''
| name = '''''Delta of Venus'''''
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| author = [[Anaïs Nin]]
| author = [[Anaïs Nin]]
| cover_artist = [[Milton Glaser]]<br>[[Richard Merkin]] <small>(photo)</small>
| cover_artist = [[Milton Glaser]]<br>[[Richard Merkin]] <small>(photo)</small>
| country = [[United States]]
| country = United States
| language = [[English Language|English]]
| language = English
| genre = [[Short stories]], [[erotica]]
| genre = [[Short stories]], [[erotica]]
| publisher = [[Harcourt Brace Jovanovich]]
| publisher = [[Harcourt Brace Jovanovich]]
| release_date = 1977
| release_date = 1977
| media_type = Print ([[Hardback]] & [[Paperback]])
| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)
| pages = 250 pp ''(first edition)''
| pages = 250 pp ''(first edition)''
| isbn = 0-15-124656-4
| isbn = 0-15-124656-4
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}}
}}


'''''Delta of Venus''''' is a book of fifteen [[short stories]] by [[Anaïs Nin]] published [[List of works published posthumously|posthumously]] in 1977<ref>I. Ousby ed., ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (1995) p. 683</ref> - though largely written in the 1940s as [[erotica]] for a private [[book collector|collector]].<ref>* Anaïs Nin, ''Delta of Venus & Little Birds'' (1996) p. 13-16</ref>
'''''Delta of Venus''''' is a book of fifteen [[short stories]] by [[Anaïs Nin]] published [[List of works published posthumously|posthumously]] in 1977<ref>I. Ousby, ed., ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (1995) p. 683</ref>—though largely written in the 1940s as [[erotica]] for a private [[book collector|collector]].<ref>Anaïs Nin, ''Delta of Venus & Little Birds'' (1996), pp. 13–16</ref>


In 1995 a film version of the book was directed by [[Zalman King]].
In 1994 [[Delta of Venus (film)|a film inspired by the book]] was directed by [[Zalman King]].


==Background==
==Background==
The collection of short stories that makes up this anthology was written during the 1940s for a private client known simply as "Collector"'. This "Collector" commissioned Nin, along with other now well-known writers (including [[Henry Miller]] and the poet [[George Barker (poet)|George Barker]]), to produce erotic fiction for his private consumption.<ref>* Anaïs Nin, ''Delta of Venus & Little Birds'' (1996) p. 13-16</ref>
The collection of short stories that makes up this anthology was written during the 1940s for a private client known simply as "Collector". This "Collector" commissioned Nin, along with other now well-known writers (including [[Henry Miller]] and the poet [[George Barker (poet)|George Barker]]), to produce erotic fiction for his private consumption.<ref>Anaïs Nin, ''Delta of Venus & Little Birds'' (1996), pp. 13–16</ref> His identity has since been revealed as Roy M. Johnson (1881–1960), a wealthy American businessman from [[Ardmore, Oklahoma]], who had discovered the Healdton Oil Pool.<ref>Paul Herron, ''Anaïs Nin:A Book of Mirrors'' (Sky Blue Press, 1996), p.427</ref>


Despite being told to leave poetic language aside and concentrate on graphic, sexually explicit scenarios, Nin was able to give these stories a literary flourish and a layer of images and ideas beyond the pornographic. In her Diary (Oct 1941), she jokingly referred to herself as "the madam of this snobbish literary house of prostitution, from which vulgarity was excluded".<ref>* Anaïs Nin, ''Delta of Venus & Little Birds'' (1996) p. 16</ref>
Despite being told to leave poetic language aside and concentrate on graphic, sexually explicit scenarios, Nin was able to give these stories a literary flourish and a layer of images and ideas beyond the pornographic. In her Diary (Oct. 1941), she jokingly referred to herself as "the madam of this snobbish literary house of prostitution, from which vulgarity was excluded".<ref>* Anaïs Nin, ''Delta of Venus & Little Birds'' (1996), p. 16</ref>


While using the [[Kama Sutra]] and other writings such as those of [[Krafft-Ebing]] as models, Nin was very conscious that the languages of male and female sexuality were distinct.<ref>* Anaïs Nin, ''Delta of Venus & Little Birds'' (1996) p. 15 and p. 19</ref> Although at times she scorned her erotica, and feared for their impact on her literary reputation,<ref>Anne T. Salvatore, ''Anaïs Nin's narratives'', [[University Press of Florida]] (2001) ISBN 0-8130-2113-8, p. 17</ref> they have subsequently been seen by [[Sex-positive feminism|sex-positive feminists]] as pioneering work.<ref>Susie Bright, ''Totally Heterotica'' (1995) p. 2</ref>
While using the [[Kama Sutra]] and other writings such as those of [[Krafft-Ebing]] as models, Nin was very conscious that the languages of male and female sexuality were distinct.<ref>Anaïs Nin, ''Delta of Venus & Little Birds'' (1996), pp. 15 & 19</ref> Although at times she scorned her erotica, and feared for their impact on her literary reputation,<ref>Anne T. Salvatore, ''Anaïs Nin's Narratives'', [[University Press of Florida]] (2001) {{ISBN|0-8130-2113-8}}, p. 17</ref> they have subsequently been seen by [[Sex-positive feminism|sex-positive feminists]] as pioneering work.<ref>Susie Bright, ''Totally Heterotica'' (1995), p. 2</ref>


== Themes ==
==Short stories==
The short stories which ''Delta of Venus'' anthologizes are these:
⚫
# The Hungarian Adventurer
⚫
# Mathilde
⚫
# The Boarding School
⚫
# The Ring
⚫
# Mallorca
⚫
# Artists and Models
⚫
# Lilith
⚫
# Marianne
⚫
# The Veiled Woman
⚫
# Elena
⚫
# The Basque and Bijou
⚫
# Pierre
⚫
# Manuel
⚫
# Linda
⚫
# Marcel
The book, unlike the later ''[[Little Birds (short story collection)|Little Birds]],'' contains no poetry as such. Its preface contains entries from her ''[[The Diary of Anaïs Nin|Diary]]'', which expressed her hope that its unexpurgated version would one day be published.


In 2021, the [[porn]]ographic film studio Thousand Faces released a short film called ''Mathilde'' based on Nin's story of the same name from Delta of Venus.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://thousandfacesfilms.com/films/mathilde |title=Mathilde |access-date=2023-06-14 |archive-date=2023-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623210517/https://thousandfacesfilms.com/films/mathilde/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In Delta of Venus Anaïs Nin conjures up a glittering cascade of sexual encounters. Creating her own 'language of the senses', she explores an area that was previously the domain of male writers and brings to it her own unique perceptions. Her vibrant and impassioned prose evokes the thematic concerns of the essence of female sexuality in a world where only love has meaning. Within Delta of Venus, Nin explores what constitutes [[masculinity]], patriarchal dominance, homosexual desire, sexual restraint, pedophilia and incest.

==Short Stories==

⚫
1. The Hungarian Adventurer

⚫
2. Mathilde

⚫
3. The Boarding School

⚫
4. The Ring

⚫
5. Mallorca

⚫
6. Artists and Models

⚫
7. Lilith

⚫
8. Marianne

⚫
9. The Veiled Woman

⚫
10. Elena

⚫
11. The Basque and Bijou

⚫
12. Pierre

⚫
13. Manuel

⚫
14. Linda

⚫
15. Marcel


==See also==
==See also==
{{Columns-list|3|
*[[D. H. Lawrence]]
*[[D. H. Lawrence]]

*[[Émile Zola]]
*[[Émile Zola]]

*[[George Sand]]
*[[George Sand]]
*[[Mons pubis]]

*''[[Little Birds]]''

*[[Mound of Venus]]

*[[The Diary of Anaïs Nin]]
}}


==References==
==References==
Line 87: Line 64:


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* Elizabeth Kowaleski-Wallace, ''Encyclopedia of feminist literary theory'', [[Taylor & Francis]], 1997, ISBN 0-8153-0824-8, p.&nbsp;190
* Elizabeth Kowaleski-Wallace, ''Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory'', [[Taylor & Francis]], 1997, {{ISBN|0-8153-0824-8}}, p.&nbsp;190
* Andrew Gibson, ''Postmodernity, ethics and the novel: from Leavis to Levinas'', Routledge, 1999, ISBN 0-415-19895-X, p.&nbsp;177
* Andrew Gibson, ''Postmodernity, Ethics and the Novel: from Leavis to Levinas'', Routledge, 1999, {{ISBN|0-415-19895-X}}, p.&nbsp;177
* [[Noël Riley Fitch]], ''Anaïs: The Erotic Life of Anaïs Nin'' (Boston: [[Little, Brown and Company]], 1993) ISBN 0-316-28428-9
* [[Noël Riley Fitch]], ''Anaïs: The Erotic Life of Anaïs Nin'' (Boston: [[Little, Brown and Company]], 1993) {{ISBN|0-316-28428-9}}
* Anais Nin, "Delta of Venus", Penguin Books, 2008 ISBN 978-0141-03730-1
* Anaïs Nin, ''Delta of Venus'', Penguin Books, 2008 {{ISBN|978-0141-03730-1}}


{{Anaïs Nin}}
{{Expand German|Das Delta der Venus|date=October 2013}}


[[Category:1977 short story collections]]
[[Category:1977 short story collections]]
[[Category:Books adapted into films]]
[[Category:Books published posthumously]]
[[Category:Books published posthumously]]
[[Category:Erotic short stories]]
[[Category:Erotic short story collections]]
[[Category:Short story collections by Anaïs Nin]]
[[Category:American short story collections]]

Latest revision as of 13:31, 19 September 2024

For the film adaptation, see Delta of Venus (film).
Delta of Venus
First edition cover art
AuthorAnaïs Nin
Cover artistMilton Glaser
Richard Merkin (photo)
LanguageEnglish
GenreShort stories, erotica
PublisherHarcourt Brace Jovanovich
Publication date
1977
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages250 pp (first edition)
ISBN0-15-124656-4

Delta of Venus is a book of fifteen short stories by Anaïs Nin published posthumously in 1977[1]—though largely written in the 1940s as erotica for a private collector.[2]

In 1994 a film inspired by the book was directed by Zalman King.

Background

[edit]

The collection of short stories that makes up this anthology was written during the 1940s for a private client known simply as "Collector". This "Collector" commissioned Nin, along with other now well-known writers (including Henry Miller and the poet George Barker), to produce erotic fiction for his private consumption.[3] His identity has since been revealed as Roy M. Johnson (1881–1960), a wealthy American businessman from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who had discovered the Healdton Oil Pool.[4]

Despite being told to leave poetic language aside and concentrate on graphic, sexually explicit scenarios, Nin was able to give these stories a literary flourish and a layer of images and ideas beyond the pornographic. In her Diary (Oct. 1941), she jokingly referred to herself as "the madam of this snobbish literary house of prostitution, from which vulgarity was excluded".[5]

While using the Kama Sutra and other writings such as those of Krafft-Ebing as models, Nin was very conscious that the languages of male and female sexuality were distinct.[6] Although at times she scorned her erotica, and feared for their impact on her literary reputation,[7] they have subsequently been seen by sex-positive feminists as pioneering work.[8]

Short stories

[edit]

The short stories which Delta of Venus anthologizes are these:

  1. The Hungarian Adventurer
  2. Mathilde
  3. The Boarding School
  4. The Ring
  5. Mallorca
  6. Artists and Models
  7. Lilith
  8. Marianne
  9. The Veiled Woman
  10. Elena
  11. The Basque and Bijou
  12. Pierre
  13. Manuel
  14. Linda
  15. Marcel

The book, unlike the later Little Birds, contains no poetry as such. Its preface contains entries from her Diary, which expressed her hope that its unexpurgated version would one day be published.

In 2021, the pornographic film studio Thousand Faces released a short film called Mathilde based on Nin's story of the same name from Delta of Venus.[9]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ I. Ousby, ed., The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (1995) p. 683
  2. ^ Anaïs Nin, Delta of Venus & Little Birds (1996), pp. 13–16
  3. ^ Anaïs Nin, Delta of Venus & Little Birds (1996), pp. 13–16
  4. ^ Paul Herron, Anaïs Nin:A Book of Mirrors (Sky Blue Press, 1996), p.427
  5. ^ * Anaïs Nin, Delta of Venus & Little Birds (1996), p. 16
  6. ^ Anaïs Nin, Delta of Venus & Little Birds (1996), pp. 15 & 19
  7. ^ Anne T. Salvatore, Anaïs Nin's Narratives, University Press of Florida (2001) ISBN 0-8130-2113-8, p. 17
  8. ^ Susie Bright, Totally Heterotica (1995), p. 2
  9. ^ "Mathilde". Archived from the original on 2023-06-23. Retrieved 2023-06-14.

Further reading

[edit]
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