Can an ancient Hindu sex manual turn an arranged marriage into a love match?
That’s the story question posed by my latest release, How To Woo... A Reluctant Bride, a sexy historical short story set in Victorian England shortly after the publication of the English translation of the Kama Sutra. (Previously published under the title Love… By the Book)When I decided to write a story involving The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana, I did some research and discovered that the book is almost 2,000 years old. Written in Sanskrit, it wasn't translated and published in English until 1883 by the famous explorer, Sir Richard Burton.
Once I'd decided to set the story in 1885, I found a copy of his translation and started reading. It's a fascinating mix of sexual instruction and advice on courtship, combined with quaint superstitions of the period in which it was written. In addition to listing various sexual positions, some with quaint names such as "splitting of a bamboo" and "fixing of a nail", it also covers biting, scratching and striking, as well as "mouth congress", i.e. oral sex, and threesomes.
Hindu society of the time was patriarchal and some of the advice is ridiculous by today's standards. People also married very young at the time, so I suppose it's no wonder that the advice for how the woman should behave sounds very juvenile by today's standards. In one section, Vatsyayana, who was a monk, actually recommends kidnapping the prospective bride if all else fails. Something my civilized English hero would never do. Still, some of the courtship advice is timeless.
For instance: ". . . the man should do whatever the girl takes most delight in, and he should get for her whatever she may have a desire to possess."
Evan takes that advice to heart when he buys his bride a brand new piano and plans a honeymoon in the country rather than staying in the city.
Even though he was a monk, Vatsyayana had a romantic streak:"If men and women act according to each other's liking, their love for each other will not be lessened even in one hundred years."
Click here to read an excerpt.
This blog is part of my mini-tour. I'll be giving away two ebooks of the winner's choice at all my blog stops from Dec. 20-22. Leave a comment here or at any of my blogs and you will be entered.
Here is the schedule:
Dec. 20, Servants of the Muse blog (Kama Sutra)
http://servantsofthemuse.blogspot.com/
also: also: Sunlight Sucks blog featuring a special giveaway of Deception, Historical M/M Romance
http://sunlightsucks.com/
Dec. 21, The Romance Studio blog (Victorian Wedding Customs) http://theromancestudio.blogspot.com/
Dec. 22, Love In A Book Reviews (Excerpt from How To Woo... A Reluctant Bride)
Happy Holidays!
Lyndi Lamont
Website: http://lyndilamont.com/
Blog: http://lyndilamont.com/blog/
Twitter: Twitter: https://twitter.com/LyndiLamont


