what NOVELS gave you the most sex education as a teenager?

[Dineysor]

me cain and abel ( ooh lalal) and also some crime writer,, not len deighton but someone similar

actually been thinking a lot about this lately, flowers in the attic for me too...they were brother and sister!! guess it's a follow on from luke and leia, but a bit weird.

Yes, another one pilfering her mum's Harold Robbins... "The Lonely Lady". Remember being Wtf? at all the references to 'balling'! Aslo swiped her library copy of "Fear of Flying" by Erica Jong with all the zipless fuck stuff going on.

Judy Bloom - Forever

Clan of the Cave Bear, and the rest of that series by Jean M Auel.

My Grandad had this in his study and I used to go for a peek when they went out. Lots of lacy lingerie and slipped bra straps

Another one for flowers in the attic when I was 12, also Thorn Birds. Then lots of Greek myths - Ovid's Metamorphoses tells you plenty about err birds, bees and more

Judy Blume's Forever when I was 11 and the other ones are good for basic sex ed too. Flowers in the Attic - not so much, unless I wanted to know how to seduce my brother...

Used to read the dirty bits from my grandfather's Harold Robbins books. And another vote for Kinflicks! Um, what else? I think I might have got hold, ooer, of a copy of Fanny Hill quite early on. Oh! I know - Wendy Perriam. My mother got quite into her when I was a teenager and passed them onto me. Very raunchy.

Jackie Collins- lucky.
Then Jilly Coopers books- great bonkbusters!

jackie collins, got told off by my a level english teacher for writing trashy 'unrealistic fiction' she called it!!

Another one for Fay Weldon. Also Clan of the Cave Bear (and the rest). Lady Chatterley's Lover (although I can't remember now how much actual hanky panky being described in there. I vaguely seem to remember my first boyfriend and me having a laugh at naming our .. er .. parts).

Being Norwegian, I also have to mention Jens Bjørneboe, Agnar Mykle and Hans Jæger, all of which were accused of indecency and so on (like Lawrence). It is said that if you pick a certain book by Mykle out of any library shelf, it will automatically fall open at the interesting parts.

Oh, and Margit Sandemo, who writes trash, but who really opened my eyes when I was twelve.

I haven't read many of the books you mention - makes me wonder if I've missed something. And I'm really curious about the goldfish.

The Thorn Birds

1001 Arabian Nights (adult version)

some Rumer Godden books (I loved her children's books and then moved on to adult ones.)

and the Flowers in the Attic books although I wasn't so much into them

Oh also dad had a copy of Delta of Venus hidden on top of the wardrobe which I found and read.

I'm a Forever by Judy Blume too. Everyone in my class read it! Some mums banned it and they had to read it in secret.

Dormez, our school took it out of the library once they realised what it was about!

The Horse Whisperer. My friend read it first, and then helpfully pointed out the dirty bits which we used to re-read all the time. I do remember one bit where she's giving him fellatio and I thought "That's gross. There's no way I'd ever do that, maybe once, but never again". Ha!

what IS delta of venus - haev nevr heard of it

forever-Judy Blume. I actually still have my copy

Delta of Venus is a collection of erotic short stories by Anais Nin.

Oooh yes. Forgot about Delta of Venus. Now that WAS an education. I always snigger when I read of people on the baby threads wanting to call their baby Anais. I could never name a child Ralph for the same reason.

Agreed llaeggub. I read her autobiography and she was one messed up lady. Same with Ralph for me too.

Endless Love

Lace.

The Thornbirds.

Lady Chatterley's lover. Although I secretly watched the tv series as well which made me hanker after a certain type of man...

Scruples, and Tantalus