Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal

infobox Book |
name = Teleny or The Reverse of the Medal
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author = Anonymous; attributed to Oscar Wilde
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country = United Kingdom
language = English
series = Erotika Biblion Society
genre = Novel; Pornography
publisher = Leonard Smithers
release_date = 1893
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"Teleny, or, The Reverse of the Medal", is a pornographic novel, first published in London in 1893. The authorship of the work is unknown, but it has long been attributed to Oscar Wilde. Recent criticism has suggested that, while Wilde probably did not write the work himself, he may well have been involved in its production and/or circulation, perhaps in some sort of editorial or advisory capacity. Set in fin-de-siècle Paris, its concerns the magnetic attraction and passionate though ultimately tragic affair between a young Frenchman named Camille de Grieux and the Hungarian pianist René Teleny. The novel is significant as one of the earliest pieces of English-language pornography to explicitly and near-exclusively concern homosexuality (following The Sins of the Cities of the Plain, published in 1891); as well as for a lush and highly literate prose style - and a relatively complexity and depth of character and plot development - that give it as much in common with the Aesthetic fiction of the period (such as Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray) as with its typical pornography.

History of publication

Wilde's authorship has never been definitely proven and likely never will be; as with most bibliographic inquiries concerning pornography, evidence is rare and when it is exists it is usually highly suspect. Bibliographic “facts” (names of authors and publishers, dates and locations of publication, editing processes, number of copies, sales records, etc) are often altered or blatantly falsified in order to boost sales, avoid legal trouble, conceal plagiarism, and so on; and the few existing narrative accounts of people involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of pornography are likewise, for reasons ranging from self-protection to self-promotion, extremely susceptible to fictionalization. Furthermore, it is a reasonable assumption that a piece of explicitly homosexual pornography, especially if a figure of Wilde’s status was involved in its production, would be even further entrenched in secrecy and anonymity than the average example of the genre. Wilde’s involvement in "Teleny" (most likely as one of several authors or as editor), however, is fairly convincingly supported by the Parisian erotic bookseller Charles Hirsch, whose memoir describes how Wilde himself brought the manuscript to Hirsch’s Librairie Parisienne in 1890, instructing that it be held until a friend, who would be carrying Wilde’s card, came to retrieve it. “A few days later one of the young gentlemen I had seen with [Wilde] came to collect the package. He kept it for a while and then brought it back saying in turn: ‘Would you kindly give this to one of our friends who will come to fetch it in the same person’s name’”. Hirsch recounts three further repetitions of this “identical ceremony” before making its way back to Wilde. Hirsch, who unsurprisingly did not adhere to the strict instructions not to open the package while it was in his care, claims that it was written in several different hands, which lends further support to his supposition that it was authored in “round robin” style by a small group of Wilde’s intimate associates. [Nelson, James. Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000]

By 1893, the manuscript had made its way – no one knows how – into the hands of Leonard Smithers, who since 1892 had been in business with Harry Nichols, Smithers serving primarily as an “entrepreneurial” liaison between “authors, publishers, and distributors" [Nelson, James. Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000] . Smithers and Nichols were aligned with William Lazenby, Edward Avery, and Charles Carrington, in a small and tightly interwoven group of late Victorian publishers heavily involved in the production and distribution of pornography in London and Paris [Nelson, Leonard. Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000] . Smithers, notably, worked quite extensively in the 1890s with Wilde and his circle, as is indicated by the title of James Nelson’s book on Smithers, "Publisher to the Decadents". Lisa Sigel claims that unlike most pornographers, who were eager to preserve their anonymity for reasons of respectability and safety, Smithers “embrace public scrutiny” and managed to earn some renown for encouraging and orchestrating the collaboration of Wilde and Beardsley on" Salomé" [Sigel, Lisa, Governing Pleasures: Pornography and Social Change in England, 1815-1914. Piscataway: Rutgers University Press, 2002.] . Smithers’s reputation was tainted, however, after Wilde’s imprisonment, and in financial desperation he resorted to pirating copies of Wilde’s works [ Sigel, Lisa, Governing Pleasures: Pornography and Social Change in England, 1815-1914. Piscataway: Rutgers University Press, 2002.] This, however, was later; from 1892-1894 Smithers and Nichols released, among other projects, a series of pornographic novels under the imprint Erotika Biblion Society. Teleny was published 1893 as part of this series in a limited edition of 200 volumes, with significant edits by Smithers, including the omission of an introduction and a change in the setting from London to Paris. Smithers hailed it in an advertisement, sent to a select group of subscribers, as “undoubtedly, the most powerful and most cleverly written erotic Romance which has appeared in the English language during recent years,” authored by “a man of great imagination… [who] has conceived a thrilling story” (Nelson takes this to mean that Smithers’s was fairly convinced of Wilde’s authorship – or that he was simply content that his customers be convinced. [Nelson, James. Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000] ). “It is a most extraordinary story of passion, and while dealing with scenes which surpass in freedom the wildest license, the culture of its author’s style adds an additional piquancy and spice to the narration” (quoted by Nelson). Unlike the majority of comparable advertisements for new releases, much of Smithers’s assessment is actually quite true. Thinking in the kind of novelistic terms (plot, character, suspense, variation, style, etc) by which pornography is usually found to be lacking (by for example Steven Marcus in "The Other Victorians"), Teleny in fact has little competition among its contemporaries for the title of “most powerful and most cleverly written erotic Romance.” [Nelson, James. Publisher to the Decadents: Leonard Smithers in the Careers of Beardsley, Wilde, Dowson. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000.]

A paperback edition from Icon Books came out in 1966. This was an expurgated version due to the laws regarding obscene publication in effect at the time. In the introduction to that edition, readers are advised that if they wish to see the complete text they can in the British Museum, where a copy in kept in the Private Case. Since that time, a few editions have been published, often by small gay publishing houses.fact|date=December 2007 In 1986, it was published in London by GMP in the series Gay Modern Classics; Wordsworth Classics published it in 1995 in their series Wordsworth Classic Erotica.

Plot Summary

The story begins with Des Grieux attending a concert with his mother; he experiences strange and suggestive visions during one piano performance – by the beautiful foreigner, Teleny. Des Grieux becomes fascinated by the man and by the sporadically and frequently sexual telepathic connection he feels with Teleny, and this feeling becomes a mixture of curiosity, admiration, and desire, which quickly leads to jealousy. Des Grieux knows that Teleny attracts many men and women before their relationship begins. Eventually they meet and share their experiences of their unexplained bond which quickly leads to a passionate affair. Des Grieux feels very torn about loving and desiring a man and attempts to genuinely sexually interest himself in a household servant, but in so doing indirectly leads to her death. Thusly shaken, he vows not to fight his feelings and allows Teleny to introduce him to an underground sexual society of male desiring men. Their love continues through a blackmailing attempt and their emotional struggles, until Teleny declares a need to leave for a time, ostensibly for a concert performance. During this time Des Grieux goes to Teleny's apartments only to find Teleny in bed with Des Grieux's mother, who had offered to pay Teleny's debts in return for sexual favours. The two part badly; Des Grieux nearly commits suicide and remains isolated in the hospital for many days. When he leaves he goes to Teleny only to find that his lover has stabbed himself in remorse, and is bleeding to death. Des Grieux forgives Teleny; they re-declare their love, and Teleny dies.

References