My copy of Rosaleen's book arrived Saturday and I must admit that I am delighted with it. Unlike the fifth volume of Harry Potter, which I devoured in three days, I spread out the enjoyment of my latest acquisition over several days.
One reason is that it is a collection of short stories and poems, so it is fun to read one and reflect a bit and from what I have read each piece definitely merits a bit of reflection.
First of all her forward "About This Book and its Authoress" is quite enjoyable. I find that her being a virgin is actually important to my enjoyment of the book. The essence with which Rosaleen imbues this book depends upon it having been written by a young woman saving herself for marriage, while indulging in a rich fantasy life none-the-less. I am certainly not opposed to pre-martial sex but everything that Rosaleen is doing, the book, her bondage photos, her spanking film would take on a different meaning in another context.
Please Rosaleen, if you do choose to do the "wild thing" before marriage, and that is your prerogative, please make a clear delineation between your artistic work as a virgin and that which follows.
Is the book " Fantasies of A Young Submissive" great literature? This is not a spurious question as the short stories and poems invite comparison not only with mythology, Faerytales and the bible, but also with at least one or two great novels. I will not attempt to answer that question here.
It is certainly great erotic literature, which may be judged by slightly different standards. It does not surpass my all time favorite "L'Image" by Jean de Berg, which is being reprinted into English and should be available in October on Amazon.com. However, I enjoy it more than the "Story of O", of which I find the alternative beginnings to be more pleasing than the rest of the book, or " Nine and a Half Weeks".
I do not claim to be the world's foremost authority on erotic literature, but I do know what pleases me and stimulates me intellectually. Rosaleen's book does both.
One of the great delights of reading great literature is the dialogue that such works develop with earlier ones. Some dialogues are quite evident, others a bit more subtle. Some dialogues may not have been consciously engaged by the author and there are certainly instances where the reader or literary critic imposes their own dialogue upon a work.
When an author focuses too exclusively on such dialogues there is the danger that his/her work would become derivative.
This is certainly not the case with the short stories and poems featured in " Fantasies of a Young Submissive'". Nor is it the case in Miss Young's poem 'Eden' in which she mischievously tackles the Judeo-Christian tradition on its own turf. Rosaleen's short story 'After The Ball' presents a fascinating extension to Cinderella, an oft recreated tale that dates back as least as far back as the 9th century to a Chinese version where she receives her golden slippers from an enchanted fish, rather than from her Fairy Godmother. Miss Young's work also engages in a rather remarkable dialogue with " Lady Chatterley's Lover", which begs for one to go back and reread the original work as well.
It is not completely original to wonder what life was like for Cinderella after marrying her prince or to believe that she might not have found her marriage completely satisfying. After a recent viewing of Jean Cocteau's " Beauty And The Beast" which ends happily with the transformation of the beast into a handsome prince, a female film critic wailed " Bring back the beast!"
What is original to Rosaleen Young as an author is her remarkable combination of intelligence and literary depth and, perhaps most important, an innocent perversion that is uniquely hers.
It is not my intent to spoil the pleasure that you will find in discovering Rosaleen Young's work for yourself, but merely to entice you and to present some thoughts that may or may not extend you pleasure, but will certainly not spoil it.
Sir James
