Jill Lewis has recalled an unusual experience of reading erotica for research in the British Museum’s Reading Room during the early 1970s. In a letter to the Guardian, she describes how her request to view Robert Benayoun’s Erotique de Surréalisme for her PhD on French surrealist poet Paul Éluard led to her being handed a card with the word “FIE!” printed on it.
Supervised Reading Session
After receiving the card, Lewis was directed to the service desk and then escorted to a small adjacent room. There, an elderly male employee brought her the book and sat at a raised desk to supervise her as she read it. The experience, though unusual, did not deter her research. She notes that she “survived the reading, illuminated.”
A Fondness for the Word 'Fie!'
Reflecting on the incident, Lewis expresses a lasting fondness for the now rarely used word “Fie!” She suggests it might be a much-needed term in today’s world. The letter was written in response to a review of Daisy Dixon’s book Depraved: A History of Dark and Dangerous Art, published on 1 July.
