Right before I left for vacation, the wonderful Emily from Wunderkind asked if I would consider reviewing or featuring the book Fifty Shades of Louisa May by L.M. Anonymous. Emily, you had me at the title! I'm currently reading the book, so look for my review. Until then here's a little info about the book and a funny interview (which, sadly I cannot take credit for... I suck at author interviews, as some of you may remember when at BEA I told Veronica Roth that she looked so young and she replied, "Because I am young"). I can't wait to hear some of the speculation over who L M Anonymous really is!
Picture from Goodreads About FIFTY SHADES OF LOUISA MAYLouisa May Alcott, author of the classic Little Women, friend of Emerson, Thoreau and Hawthorne, beloved icon of professors of American 19th-century literature and perhaps less loved by their legions of students, had a lusty side that was less academic, and more . . . transcendental than any of us knew.Brilliantly penned by a well-known writer who prefers the cloak of anonymity to the vulgar embrace of rude fame (of which s/he has no need), this hilarious little book reveals the unbridled passion-that-might-have-been of one of the world’s most popular authors.A racy memoir that just might tell us more about the sowing of transcendental wild oats than any ream of volumes on the subject, FIFTY SHADES OF LOUISA MAY (OR Books; Publication Date: August 22, 2012; $15pbk/$10ebook) is not for the weak of art, or for those who prefer their literary icons under glass. It imagines an unhinged Melville doing what comes naturally, a Centennial Ball unlike any heretofore described, Louisa May’s ardent encounters with her “Wooden Friend,” and much, much more. All lovingly illustrated with X-rated woodcuts.About LOUISA MAY ANONYMOUSThe award-winning author of FIFTY SHADES OF LOUISA MAY has published many highly regarded works of fiction, none of them under a pseudonym. Until now. For this book, "LMA" immersed her/himself in the literature of the Transcendentalists, reading literally thousands of pages by and about them. S/he is recovering, slowly.An Interview with LOUISA MAY ANONYMOUSQ: Why did you write this book? LMA: I wondered what Louisa May would have made of the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon. After all, she wrote “blood-and-thunder” romances and thrillers under pseudonyms. So it’s clear that she had a darker, more sexual side—one that she kept carefully hidden. My book unleashes the inner Louisa and lets her have her say.Q: So she was lusty, then? LMA: The real Louisa May probably died a virgin, so lust wasn’t central to her life. She was sickly, overworked, overmedicated, and unable to take much enjoyment from her remarkable success. Fifty Shades of Louisa May is an attempt to give her a second chance at life and sex. In it, Louisa May has a lot of sexual encounters—though they end up being more hilarious than erotic, as is frequently the case in life and literature. But why not let Louisa May cut loose and have a little fun for once?Q: How did you write this book? LMA: I immersed myself in their world by reading dozens of books on Transcendental history and books of the era. I took field trips to Orchard House, Fruitlands, and other landmarks. Then the spirit of Louisa May entered me (won’t say where) and guided my hand. To write the book, that is.Q: Why do so many people seem outraged by your book? LMA: Because they want to keep Louisa May in some kind of virginal vault that denies that she was a complex woman with desires, bad moods, grudges, and a sense of humor. They should lighten up. In my book, Louisa May never gets tied up or spanked, tempting as that was. She’s in charge.Q: Aren’t you making fun of her? LMA: No, I’m having fun with her. If the book makes fun of anyone, it’s the sanctimonious men who surrounded her, from her loony father on down.Q: Would she approve? LMA: Of course not. Are you kidding?Q: Was it difficult to write about 19th-century sex? LMA: Sex in any era is still sex. It’s not like we’ve come up with lots of great innovations in sex lately, beyond Internet porn, of course. The Transcendentalists are often thought of as fancy-thinking deities. Fifty Shades of Louisa May imagines them on a more human level, where they shed all of their pretensions. And their clothes.Q: How did the Fifty Shades trilogy inspire a historical work? LMA:Well, it’s clear that the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon has hit a literary g-spot by revealing the inner desires of fictional characters. Fifty Shades of Louisa May just takes it further, revealing the sexual secrets of literary figures—Melville, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and more. Luckily, all are too dead to sue.Q: Isn’t this book just fan fiction for Fifty Shades? LMA: Hardly. First of all, I’m not a fan. Rich man + semi-submissive woman = avant garde sexuality? I don’t think so. Plus, the writing blows kraken whales (quoting Melville here).So my book is neither parody nor homage. It hijacks the title, throws away the seriousness and the bondage, and lets legendary authors perform ridiculous and embarrassing sexual acts. As writers of any era often do. So call it lewditure. Call it literotica.Q: What do you have against the Transcendentalists? LMA: They were proto-hippies who brought a critical line of free-thinking humanism to the world. They were way ahead of their times. But they weren’t saints. Thoreau was a grouchy trustifarian and onanist. Like a lot of writers, Melville was manic-depressive and delusional. Hawthorne was twee and neurotic as an indoor cat. Emerson seems to have been high on opiates a lot of the time. And the Peabody sisters were libertines in training. If the E! Network existed in their day, the Transcendentalists would have been all over it.Q: What did you end up feeling for the actual Louisa May? LMA: Deep admiration. She was a remarkably hard-working, politically engaged writer who achieved incredible success back when women were still fighting to get to vote. That she became a captive to her success is tragic. That critics and readers have made her a poster-child for old-fashioned goodness is reductive, inaccurate, and unfair. She was a talented, creative soul who deserved a better life. Or at least a heart-thumping roll in the hayloft once in awhile.Q: So who are you, exactly? LMA: Can’t tell. Though the answer’s hidden in the book if you look hard enough.Q: Why the secrecy?LMA: I write in a different genre and have committed readers (and publishers) all over the world. A book like this would confuse everyone. I wanted to write a book free of my own reputation for once—as Louisa May certainly must have wanted to in her day. Now’s the time.
I think I'm more likely to read this than the original Fifty Shades.
ReplyDeleteOh dear. This has to go on my to-read list. Haha!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds hilarious! Little Women is one of my favorites, so I might just have to pick this up. Unless you'd need to have read the original 50 Shades first..
ReplyDeleteThis interview was really funny! And I like the whole idea of it, so as long as it isn't too lengthy I wouldn't mind giving this one a shot. However I did try to find it online but couldn't.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear what you thought of it!
This sounds really funny. I hope your enjoying it. I will say that I'd like to borrow it, but honestly I have no idea when I would read it.
ReplyDeleteWow, this sounds funny! And I really want to know who wrote it! Hmm, maybe I'll have to read it just so I can figure it out, since the author said it's revealed in the book if you look hard enough.... I'll be interested to see what you think!
ReplyDelete