The Story of O books
Histoire d’O
STORY OF O
The Story of O books: With a preface “Happiness in Slavery” by Jean Paulhan, Histoire d’O first appeared as 600 copies published by Jean-Jacques Pauvert in Paris in 1954.
A number carried a medallion sized lithograph by artist Hans Bellmer. The first English translation by Baird Bryant was published in tandem with the French edition by the Olympia Press, Paris. Story of O would go on to sell more than a million copies worldwide and to be translated into over twenty languages.
An improved English translation for Olympia by Austryn Wainhouse appeared in 1957 as Wisdom of the Lash. The Grove Press (USA) edition of Story of O and with a translation by Sabine d’Estree appeared in 1965. This edition has been available in Britain since 1970 and is still available in the UK published by Corgi Books.
Retour á Roissy
Story of O Part 2
The Story of O books: Return to the Chateau was originally published by Jean-Jacques Pauvert in 1969. This sequel, or added ‘chapter’, has been available in the USA and Britain since 1971 and 1985 respectively. It includes a fascinating article Une Fille Amoureuse (A Girl in Love) by Pauline Réage (Dominique Aury).
A biography of Dominique Aury by Angie David suggests this sequel was not penned by Aury. However, the original handwritten manuscript, having exchanged hands several times, now resides in the Houghton Library at Harvard University, Massachusetts.
Discover more about the writing of Story of O, its author, and her milieu at Stefan’s O-Blog
More reading about Story of O