The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty Author: Anne Writing as A. N. Roquelaure Rice | Language: English | ISBN:
B001YVCNUO | Format: EPUB
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty Description
- Series: Erotic Adventures of Sleeping Beauty (Book 1)
- Hardcover
- Publisher: Plume, New York, New York, U.S.A. (1985)
- ISBN-10: 0452266564
- ISBN-13: 978-0452266568
- ASIN: B001YVCNUO
- Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
Once upon a time, The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy was one of the best kept secrets of novelist Anne Rice's body of work, published under the pseudonym A.N. Roquelaure. Any prolific reader of Rice's novels understands that when they open that cover, they are bound to enter a world so deeply conceived, so sumptuously described, that it takes on a life and plausibility all its own, and this series is no exception.
The tale begins with the awakening of Sleeping Beauty to ravishment by the Prince who breaks the spell of sleep on her kingdom. Indebted to the Prince, her parents consent to allow Beauty to be taken as tribute to the castle of the Prince's mother, Queen Eleanor, whose power dominates the surrounding kingdoms. Beauty is thereafter made to serve the erotic pleasures of the Queen's courtiers, male and female, who attempt to instill empathy and humility in her, and prepare her to be a wise ruler when she inherits her family's throne. This subtext of forging an entitled and spoiled aristocrat into an empathetic one is a clever and satisfying justification for the trials that Beauty must endure.
Unfortunately, Beauty and her fellow slaves Princes Alexi and Laurent, are rebellious. This results in deeper punishment, humiliations, and painfully pleasurable sexual torments. Their refusal to embrace the lessons of the Queen and her aristocracy prolongs their trials, leading to exile to a village of the common people. Here, their royal rank is meaningless and invites deeper, even resentful torments. When this also proves inadequate, they are exiled to a foreign land where they face the greatest trials of all.
To call the Beauty series pornography is to call a Rembrandt "just a painting". The eroticism is explicit, but never descends into psychological darkness.
I had peeked at these novels for years while browsing bookstores but finally had the nerve to purchase the first one about a year ago. Within a week, I owned all three. While I thoroughly enjoy reading good erotica, too many authors offer the same dialog and plots that are extremely unimaginative, trite, or downright ridiculous. It almost seems like sex is joke in such novels. I found nothing like that in the Sleeping Beauty novels. You can't describe these books with words like "steamy" or "hot." The sex depicted in the plot comes from deep down inside a person who finds freedom in submission, where their bodies only exist as means to serve and pleasure another. It is more spiritual and mental than it is physical. The characters are extremely well-written, their personalities and histories are just as important as the acts they participate in. (I personally fell in love with the character of Tristan who desperately wants to submit to another but yearns for a strict and merciless master.) But ironically, I found Beauty to be the weakest character and was happy that her story became almost secondary in the second and third books.
Be forewarned: Most sex acts in these novels are between men instead of men and women. The characters are not necessarily homosexual or heterosexual, they are in bondage to please both sexes and must participate in any acts their masters desire. I used to turn away stories or novels with acts involving only men or only women, it made me a bit squeamish. But Rice writes with such emotion, that every coupling in these books is compelling and beautiful no matter which characters are involved.
THAT is what I'm trying to get at - these books are not written just to stimulate someone for bedtime or foreplay.
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty Preview
Link
Please Wait...