Collection: John Cleland
John Cleland (1709–1789) English merchant and writer. He gained fame for his erotic novel Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure , commonly known as Fanny Hill . He completed the book in debtors' prison, where he was sent in 1748, so that Fanny Hill could be published (in two volumes) in November 1748 and February 1749. In November 1749 he was again imprisoned, this time accused of the obscenity of his novel. He was eventually acquitted of the charges, and the book was banned. This in turn led to a flood of pirated editions of it, from which Cleland naturally derived no income. Although Fanny Hill was one of the most popular novels of the 18th century, the writer died in poverty.
