Cover of Belle de jour

Belle de jour

The startling and groundbreaking novel that inspired Luis Bunuel's film by the same name is finally available once more. In a world that blurs the lines between feminism and female sexuality, Belle de Jour remains as vital and controversial today as it was in its 1960 debut.

Read more

Severine Serizy is a wealthy and beautiful Parisian housewife. She loves her husband, but she cannot share physical intimacy with him, and her vivid sadomasochistic fantasies drive her to seek employment at a brothel. By day, she enacts her customers' wildest fantasies under the pseudonym "Belle de Jour"; in the evenings, she returns home to her chaste marriage and oblivious husband. Famous for its unflinching eroticism, Joseph Kessel's novel continues to offer an eye-opening glance into a unique female psyche.

Setting
1920s
Subject
psychology
Audience
adult
Length
short · 188 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked Belle de jour? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Belle de jour. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. The She-Devils Shares erotica, french, sexuality
  2. Story of the Eye Shares french, fiction, erotica
  3. Constance Ring Shares classics, fiction, feminism
  4. The Sexual Life of Catherine M. Shares erotica, sexuality, french

“People who read Belle de jour tend to reach for these next.”

  1. The Survivor's Guide to Sex: How to Create Your Own Empowered Sexuality After Childhood Sexual Abuse
  2. Mademoiselle de Maupin
  3. My Secret Life: An Erotic Diary of Victorian London
  4. The Pearl

“If you want more of the same (erotica about sexuality), start with these.”

  1. Irene's Cunt
  2. Free onlineFree The Children
  3. Push The Button
  4. Claudine's House

“If it was the french that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Juliette
  2. Philosophy in the Boudoir or, The Immoral Mentors
  3. A Fleeting Sorrow
  4. The Use of Speech

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Sudden Pleasures
  2. My Secret Garden
  3. Private Pleasures
  4. The Amish Bride of Ice Mountain