Recreates the origins of D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" from its private publication by Lawrence through the 1960 obscenity trial that sought to suppress the full, uncensored edition, reimagining its journey to freedom through the story of Jackie Kennedy, who was known to be an admirer.

For more than a decade, the book that literary critics now consider the most important novel in the English language was illegal to own, sell, advertise or purchase in most of the English-speaking world. James Joyce's big blue book, Ulysses, ushered in the modernist era and changed the novel for all time. But the genius of Ulysses was also its danger: it omitted absolutely nothing. All of the minutiae of Leopold Bloom's day, including its unspeakable...

The Supreme Court's 6-3 decision in Roth v. United States (1957) for the first time tried to definitively rule on the issue of obscenity in American life and law-and failed. Whitney Strub lays out the history of obscenity's meaning as a legal concept, highlights the influence of anti-vice crusaders like Anthony Comstock, and chronicles the shadowy career of Samuel Roth ("America's leading smut lung") who spent nearly a decade imprisoned for the allegedly...

Allen Ginsberg recounts the road trips, love affairs, and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless, electrifying, and controversial work of his career. Pushing the limits and challenging the mainstream, the passionate and provocative Howl and its publisher find themselves on trial for obscenity, with prosecutor Ralph McIntosh setting out to have the book banned, while defense attorney Jake Ehrlich fervently argues for freedom of...