Fanny: Being the True History of the Adventures of Fanny Hackabout-Jones : a Novel

Erica Jong

W. W. Norton & Company, 2003 - Fiction - 525 pages

Discovered on the doorstep of a country estate in Wiltshire, England, the infant Fanny is raised to womanhood by her adoptive parents, Lord and Lady Bellars. Fanny wants to become the epic poet of the age, but her plans are dashed when she is ravished by her libertine stepfather. Fleeing to London, Fanny falls in with idealistic witches and highwaymen who teach her of worlds she never knew existed. After toiling in a London brothel that caters to literati, Fanny embarks on a series of adventures that teach her what she must know to live and prosper as a woman. Soon to be a major Broadway musical. Reading group guide included.

Contents

• The Introduction to the Work or Bill of Fare to the Feast: 15
• A Short Description of my Childhood with particular Attention to the Suff rings of my StepMother Lady Bellars: 18
• In Which I meet my first Great Man and learn the Truth of that Maxim Tis Easier to be a Great Man in ones Work than in ones Life: 22
• Of Gardening Great Houses the Curse of Fashion Paradise Lost a Family Supper with a Famous Visitor in Attendance and the Foolish Curiosity of Vir...: 31
• Of FlipFlaps Lollipops Picklocks LoveDarts Pillicocks and the Immortal Soul together with some Warnings against Rakes and some Observations upo...: 38
• Some Reflections upon Harmony Order and Reason together with many surprising Adventurers which follow one upon the other in rapid Succession: 43
• Venus is introduced with some pretty Writing and we learn more of Amrous Dalliances of Lord Bellars than we or our Heroine would wish to know: 49
• Containing the sundry Adventures of our Heroine in Preparing her Escape as well as many edifying Digressions upon Doweries upon Love upon the ...: 54
• Containing a most improving Philosophical Enquiry into the diffring Philosophies of the Third Earl of Shaftesbury and Mr Bernard Mandeville toget...: 61
• A Word to the Wise about Gratitude an exciting Chase upon horseback our Heroines Conversations with two Wise Women of the Woods and a most ...: 70
• Of Prophecies and Herbs of Witchcraft and Magick of Courage and a red silk Garter: 79
• Containing some Essential Information regarding the Nature of Esbats Sabbats Flying thro the Air upon Broomstaffs and other Matters with which th...: 85
• Containing sevral Dialogues concerning Fate Poesy and the Relations betwixt the Sexes as well as other Intercourse of a more sensual Nature because ...: 100
• In which Lancelot Robinson and his Merry Men are introduced and our Heroine meets her Fate in all its Nakedness: 115
• A short Hint of what we can do in the Rabelaisian Style our Heroine gets her Name Lancelot Robinson begins his astounding History: 123
• Lancelot Robinson concludes his astonishing History showing that Man may be wise in all Things both sublunary and divine yet still be a Ninny whe...: 133
• An Improving philosophical Conversation upon the Nature of Orphans after which the Merry Men are introduced Lancelot discloses his future plans ...: 139
• Containing some mischievous and amrous Play in which tis presently seen that Lancelots Protestations of sexual Preference are not as fixt as he would...: 155
• Book II: 167
• In which our Heroine first makes an intimate Acquaintance with the Great City of London and what befell her upon her historick Arrival there: 171
• Some Animadversions upon the Author of that Notorious Book Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure or Fanny Hill together with our Heroines True and...: 183
• In which our Fanny meets a Frog who thinks himself a Prince and loses her Virginity for the second Time which doubting Thomases may profess to ...: 195
• In which we follow Fanny to Mrs Skynners Emporium are initiated into some Mysteries to which Wise Women have been privy throout the Centurie...: 203
• Fannys Flight thro London Dissension in the Body Politick and a most amazing Revolution which Whigs will applaud but Tories may grumble of aft...: 213
• Containing a short Sketch of the celebrated Dean Swift of Dublin Author Misanthrope and HorseFancier extraordinaire together with some philosoph...: 224
• Of Fannys Acquaintance with those two curious Figures Mr William Hogarth and Master John Cleland their opposing Views of her Character their Pr...: 234
• In which we look in upon Mr Lancelot Robinson in Newgate Prison and learn what hath transpird with him whilst our Fanny was very much Otherwi...: 245
• Containing a most edifying Excursion into the World of London Clubs in which our Heroine journeys to the Centre of the Earth meets the Devil and ...: 252
• Of Love and Lust Pan and Satan Longing and Loyalty and other such lofty or low Matters together with our Heroines Adventures at the notorious G...: 266
• Containing a most curious Exchange of Letters thro which our Fanny learns more concerning the Capriciousness of Destiny than all her Adventures ...: 276
• Containing an Incident of a more tragick than comedick Kind the Import of which may not be Reveald for many Years but which nonetheless alters ...: 285
• Containing a most Edifying Comparison betwixt Life and a Masquerade as well as our Heroines Meditations upon Maternity and the curious Bargain ...: 297
• BOOK III: 303
• How our Heroine spent her Confinement a short Descrption of her Loyal Servant Susannah some philosophical Meditations upon the Phases of Child...: 305
• Containing better Reasons than any which have yet appeard for the happy Delivery of Women by those of their own Sex together with the Introducti...: 317
• In which such surprizing Events occur that we dare not een hint of em here lest the Muse of HistorioComical Epick Writing be very cross with us and...: 331
• We are introduced to Prudence Feral WetNurse extraordinaire and your humble Author summarizes the current Controversy concerning WetNursing...: 339
• Containing the Character of a Cook some useful Opinions upon the Nature of Infants our Heroines Attempts to find a new WetNurse for her Babe an...: 350
• In which our Heroine and her loyal Servant Susannah begins their Apprenticeship at Sea and learn that the Sailors Life is not an easy one tho the Shi...: 359
• Containing a Storm at Sea a Scene which should perhaps be skippd oer by those with squearnish Stomachs and the Entrance into our History of the n...: 370
• In which tis provd that Sea Captains are as lustful as they are reputed to be that Deists do not always make the best Lovers and that many Persons in t...: 382
• In which our Heroine learns more than she wishes to know about the Nature of Distemperd Lust debates with the Surgeon and indeed with herself ab...: 395
• In which our Heroine learns that no Man is such a Scoundrel that he doth not wish to be an Author that een Slavers account themselves patriotick and...: 406
• Containing a better Explanation for the Prevalence of Pyracy than any Authors ancient or modern have yet advanced together with our Heroines trag...: 417
• Containing divers Dialogues betwixt Lancelot Horatio and our Heroine in which the History goes backward somewhat and we learn what these Gentl...: 432
• In which our Heroine well and truly learns the Pyrates Craft discovers the Joys of Sailing as she hath previously known only the pains whereupon ou...: 446
• Containing Anne Bonnys Legacy to our Heroine better Reasons for Female Pyracy than for Male a very tragical Incident and the Beginning of the C...: 469
• In which we draw nearer and nearer to our Conclusion and certain Omens presage the Future of our Heroine Hero and thei Beloved Babe: 484
• Drawing still nearer to the End: 506
• In which our Author explains the curious Chain of Events which led to the Writing of this History: 513

About the author

Erica Jong was born on March 26, 1942. She received a B.A. from Barnard College and a M.A. in 18th Century English Literature from Columbia University. She also attended Columbia University's graduate writing program where she studied poetry. She has written numerous volumes of poetry, novels, and non-fiction works including Fruits and Vegetables, Fear of Flying, How to Save Your Own Life, Parachutes and Kisses, Sappho's Leap, Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life, and It Was Eight Years Ago Today (But It Seems Like Eighty). She has received numerous awards including the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature, Poetry magazine's Bess Hokin Prize, the Deauville Award for Literary Excellence, and the Sigmund Freud Award for Literature.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Fanny: Being the True History of the Adventures of Fanny Hackabout-Jones : a Novel
• Author: Erica Jong
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003
• ISBN: 0393324354, 9780393324358
• Length: 525 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / City Life; Fiction / Erotica / General; Fiction / General; Fiction / Historical / General; Fiction / Women