A bestselling author in his time, Pierre Lou每s (1870鈥1925) was a friend of, and influence on, Andr茅 Gide, Paul Val茅ry, Oscar Wilde and Stephane Mallarm茅 among others. He achieved instant notoriety with Aphrodite and The Songs of Bilitis, but it was only after his death that Lou每s' true legacy was to be discovered: nearly 900 pounds of erotic manuscripts were found in his home, all of them immediately scattered among collectors and many subsequently lost. Since then, it has become clear that Lou每s is the greatest French writer of erotica there ever was. The Young Girl's Handbook of Good Manners was the first of his erotic manuscripts to see publication, and it also remains his most outrageous鈥攁n erotic classic in which humor takes precedence over arousal. By means of shockingly filthy advice鈥攐stensibly offered 鈥渇or use in educational establishments鈥濃攃ouched in a hilariously parodic admonitory tone, Lou每s turns late-nineteenth-century manners roundly on their head, with ass prominently skyward. Whether offering rules for etiquette in church, school or home, or outlining a girl's duties toward family, neighbor or God, Lou每s manages to mock every institution and leave no taboo unsullied. The Young Girl's Handbook of Good Manners has only grown more scandalous and subversive since its first appearance in 1926.
