Product Description

An erotic novel of discipline, love, and surrender for the enjoyment of men and women.

This sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, the first of Anne Rice's elegantly written volumes of erotica, continues her explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology of human desire. Now Beauty, having indulged in a secret and forbidden infatuation with the rebellious slave Prince Tristan, is sent away from the Satyricon-like world of the Castle. Sold at auction, she will soon experience the tantalizing punishments of "the village," as her education in love, cruelty, dominance, submission, and tenderness is turned over to the brazenly handsome Captain of the Guard. And once again Rice's fabulous tale of pleasure and pain dares to explore the most primal and well-hidden desires of the human heart.

Read by Genvieve Bevier and Winthrop Eliot.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13502 in Books
• Published on: 1999-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780452281431
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
A.N. Roquelaure is the pseudonym for bestselling author Anne Rice, the author of 25 books. She lives in New Orleans.

Customer Reviews

Read this one.
I love Anne Rice and I think she is a top notch erotica author. Having said that, this sequel to the first, Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, is a joy to read. It's almost better than the first book, if that is possible. I really got into the story and didn't want it to end--good thing there's a sequel to this one! (Three books in total.) If you like bdsm fiction and hot erotica, do not overlook this one. It's a classic in every sense of the word. Another good bdsm erotica; Breaking the Girl and Eager to Please: Two Erotic Novels of Submission.

Easily the best of Anne Rice's erotic
I have been reading S&M erotica for the past 16 years and I have NEVER found any author that even comes close to her high level of literary or erotic quality. Not only does this book arouse, but it also smacks of realism. You feel as if you are REALLY there at the slave auction or the place of public punishment or the inn where Beauty is kept as a naked slave. Many S&M writers do a very poor and unprofessional job. Anne Rice is head and shoulders above ALL other writers in this genre. It is a shame that she has decided to never write any additional 'Sleeping Beauty' books or even S&M erotica of any setting. I weep over the fact that we must settle for the those writers of S&M erotica that do not have ONE HALF of her talent!

Past the Spanking, to the Psychology
It had been a year or so since I had read the first one, and after completing this installment I would strongly suggest, for continuity sake, that people do not allow that lapse of time. Recall that this is an updated erotic version of the sleeping beauty fairy tale. The Prince in this medieval version wakes Beauty from her 100-year sleep not with a kiss, but by making her a sexual initiate. This act coupled with the mores and power structures of the land force Beauty off to the Prince's distant castle where she will undergo all manner of S&M and bondage. Despite becoming a castle favorite amongst the nobles, the Prince, and the Queen herself, Beauty's spirit and `soul' is not broken by these acts and she willfully disobeys. She is sentenced to slavery in the neighboring village, and that is where this book takes up. Beauty and her final castle paramour Tristan are sold at auction in the village square, Beauty goes to an inn while Tristan is snapped up by one of the villagers richest men, the Queen's chronicler. What follows for the two are a series of spankings, public punishments, being dressed up like a pony [complete with, er, tail accoutrements] to pull carts, and being `forced' to pleasure a wide variety of lodgers, and other slaves. It should also be mentioned that the castle slaves who are sent to the village for punishment must run around bereft of clothes, and never speak unless told to. It is here that the story flags, the punishments and humiliations mount, but we are only vaguely aware of both protagonists' feelings and thoughts as this continues. Beauty gives in to it all and comes to appreciate her place, but she does not give over the love of her soul. The numerous, and I do mean numerous, spankings become banal after awhile as the reader desensitizes. I found things becoming more interesting psychologically about 5/6 of the way through when Nicolas [Tristan's master] plumbs his depths about why a slave behaves as they do, what they think of the abasement, and whether love could come from this non-egalitarian relationship. Tristan provides no shocking revelations really, and the age-old struggle for dominance and power is left as the answer. Nicolas then professes his love as Tristan's heart soars, for he, Tristan needs the discipline to complete himself. This was a rather difficult read, I can't say I particularly enjoyed it, but it was interesting on other levels. As some other reviewers have noted the plot thins considerably and all we are left with are the power struggles acted out through sex. Thankfully, things picked up a bit, as noted, towards the end. For completeists sake I begin Beauty's final chapter, as she is kidnapped from the village and taken to the Eastern realms of a Sultan.