Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, an ambitious work of magical realism, received one of the most violent and lasting reactions in literary history for its treatment of the Islamic tradition. Its release in 1988 was met with protests, riots and bans in Muslim-majority countries. Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious edict, in 1989 calling for the murder of the author and all those who worked on the book, after which an Italian translator of the novel was stabbed, a Japanese translator of “The Satanic Verses” was murdered , and a Norwegian publisher shot and wounded. Rushdie was forced into hiding for years. the book is still banned in more than a dozen countries, including Iran, India and Kenya. The motive behind this month’s attack on Rushdie is still unclear, but the incident “highlights that the suppression and censorship of books has gone on for centuries and is still happening today,” said Pom Harrington, director of the upcoming Rare Fair. Book Firsts: London Rare Book Fair, which centers around the theme of banned books. The exhibition, which features more than 120 exhibitors and runs from September 15 to 18 at London’s Saatchi Gallery, features a wide array of censored titles that cut across history and geography. It will include books banned for obscenity, blasphemy and security reasons, including the discoveries of Copernicus and a version of “Dr. Zhivago” secretly published by the CIA to undermine the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The event commemorates the 100th anniversary of James Joyce’s epic The Ulysses, which was banned in both the United States and the United Kingdom upon its initial release. a signed first edition of “The Satanic Verses” will also be on display. A common theme of book bans throughout history is that censorship tends to backfire and make its targets more popular, Harrington said, pointing to the case of “Spycatcher,” an autobiography by a former MI5 officer that became a bestseller after its ban in 1987. “The more you suppress, the more people fight it,” he added. The exhibition’s collection of censored works includes a number of titles, including the following, that are considered classics in some jurisdictions and contraband in others.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)
courtesy of Shapero Rare Books Nabokov’s story about a pedophile’s love affair with a young girl predictably ran afoul of censorship in the UK, so French publisher Maurice Girodias — a champion of banned works specializing in erotica — published the first copies. English novelist Graham Greene campaigned for the novel’s release in Europe, arguing that “Lolita” was a metaphor for the corruption of the old world (Europe) by the new (the United States). Bans in many countries were overturned when Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation was released in 1962 and the book became a hit. However, it remains high on the list of most banned and controversial texts in US schools and libraries, according to the American Library Association.
Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945)
Courtesy of PY Rare Books US and UK publishers rejected Orwell’s satire on the dangers of Stalinist repression during World War II when they feared the novella might undermine their alliance with the Soviet Union against Hitler, but later they were quick to embrace it when the Soviets became the enemy during the Cold War. “Animal Farm” was off-limits in the Eastern bloc until the fall of the USSR, and was later banned by the United Arab Emirates because it depicted pigs as protagonists, which some felt went against Islamic values.
“Tropic of Cancer” by Henry Miller (1934)
courtesy of Jonkers Rare Books “I’m not sure it will be published today,” said Tom Ayling of Jonkers Rare Books, which is selling limited editions of Miller’s semi-autobiographical novel about life as a struggling writer in Paris. The prevalence of violent sex scenes and misogynistic language would be hard to sell to modern audiences, he argued. Only Obelisk Press, an outlet better known for distributing pornography, would publish “Tropic of Cancer” in 1934. U.S. Customs banned the book that same year, but it circulated on the black market until the Supreme Court declared it not obscene in 1964. Turkey only banned the novel in 1986.
“Lady Chatterley’s Lover” by DH Lawrence (1928)
courtesy of Jonkers Rare Books Lawrence’s agent informed the author that his risque story could not be published in the UK, due to both the sexual content and the depiction of then-taboo relationships between members of different social classes. The author eventually secured a limited English language print edition through an Italian publisher. “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” was published in the UK until 1960, when it became the subject of a landmark lawsuit fought by publisher Penguin Books against the state. Penguin won and, on the first day the novel became available, 200,000 copies were sold. The book was subsequently banned in China in 1987 on the grounds that it would “corrupt the minds of young people and is also against Chinese tradition”, although it is unclear whether the ban is still enforced.
Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)
courtesy of Peter Harrington Boo The American magazine The Little Review originally ran Joyce’s magnum opus, but the play’s sexual passages — particularly a masturbation scene — led to an obscenity lawsuit and the series was discontinued. The United Kingdom also banned The Ulysses, but Joyce found a publisher in Paris to print the entire work for the first time in 1922. The book quickly became a black market success, even as copies were confiscated and burned by the Postal Service. of the USA and to British ports. But in 1933, an American judge ruled that the book was not obscene and it began to be widely circulated. “Odysseus” has since been considered one of the masterpieces of modernist literature. In defiance of Iranian censors, the book was recently translated into Persian for illegal distribution in the country.
The 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade (1904)
courtesy of Voewood Rare Books Written in the Bastille during the French Revolution, the author was interrupted when rebels stormed the prison and never finished the story. But “120 Days” remains one of the most infamous works of literature, with depraved fetishes, bloody orgies, torture and pedophilia. The book was first published in Germany in 1904 and was subsequently banned throughout Europe for much of the 20th century. A 1975 film adaptation by Pier Paolo Pasolini was also banned in several countries. South Korea has banned the book twice this century, and it can now only be sold there in a sealed plastic cover to adults 19 and older.
