I have written widely about
film censorship on WhatCulture, and now I am delving into the world of literary censorship. Most of the books on my list are bona fide classics but there was something about them - foul language, 'perverse' sex acts, subversion, drugs - that the powers that be deemed unfit for public consumption. Often, heated battles about the artistic merits of these books were played out in courtrooms all over the world. A seeming consensus occurred about dodgy books. Just like their film brethren, books must have some kind of artistic merit to be published - they cannot be a litany of depraved acts with no purpose. Looking back, it is laughable that some of these books were banned for depicting a bit of rumpy pumpy. However the list does contain more inflammatory material which has caused international divisions on a global scale. If you can think of any more books that caused censorship problems and deserve to be on this list, please add them below.
12. Naked Lunch - William S Burroughs (1959)
A book that defies all description due to its loony, drug addled, non-linear narrative, Naked Lunch follows the adventures of William Lee (a character meant to represent Burroughs himself) who travels to different places and takes different drugs. Considered Burrough's magnum opus and a landmark of American literature, Naked Lunch provoked widespread controversy. It was banned in Boston and Los Angeles. In Boston the book was banned in 1962 due to acts of obscenity (child murder and acts of paedophilia). This ban was rescinded in 1966, due to that old banned book trick - assemble literary giants to give favourable evidence in your corner. The book was free to be enjoyed by fans of perverse experimental literature everywhere.