The Pleasure Quest of the R.S.P.

Hermetic Library fellow T Polyphilus reviews The Pleasure Quest of the R.S.P. by Peter Quimme.

Peter Quimme The Pleasure Quest of the R S P

The suspicious name of this author may be a nom de plume, but it also appeared on his gastronomical studies. As far as my research has been able to sound, this 1974 first novel was also his last. That’s a disappointment, because I enjoyed it thoroughly. Part I is principally a fictional symposium of competitive erotic storytelling, along with the necessary scene-setting and character definition to ground Part II, which is a spectacular farce culminating in a baroque sexual orgy that brings the titular Royal Society of Pornographers together with a small and eclectic free-love cult.

The characters, while sometimes pandering to stereotypes, are all vividly and entertainingly drawn. There are a few brief passages of verse, some of which is poetically admirable, and some of which is simply hilarious. The pacing holds up well throughout. I would only be too pleased to read another book on these lines, but I fear this one is unique. [via]

Consider also:

  1. The Prague Cemetary
  2. The Forge and the Crucible
  3. The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe
  4. Horus Rising
  5. “Oh! my pure heart! Adulterous love began So subtly to identify the man With its own perfumed thoughts. So steals the grape Into the furtive brain–a spirit shape Kisses my spirit as no woman can. I love her–yes; and I have no escape. I never spoke, I never looked! But she Saw through the curtains of the soul of me, And loved me also! It is very well. I am well started on the road to Hell.”