Pure Trash

While pawing through a musty old bookcase at my someone's house recently, I found a paperback book, published in 1960, entitled Scandal in Suburbia, by Gardner F. Fox. The cover line reads: "The story of a doctor's love--under the scalpel of desire!" The illustration on the front depicts a handsome but pained-looking doctor embracing a sexy redhead dressed only in a slip.

In 1960, paperback books cost 35 cents and were still a fairly new concept. They had a seemy, often deserved, reputation as trash literature--the sort of book you would hide under the bed.

Here's a sample of Fox's prose:

"The teeth bit again, harder. There was a strange piquancy about standing on the other side of a door from a naked woman and having her bite his fingertips. So different from the overly familiar rites with Madge. He was off balance with Judy, not knowing what to expect; as a result he was pleasantly excited . . . .

Later, in bed, she said dreamily, "Joe, this won't be enough for me, just this afternoon with you."

"Flatterer," he grinned.

"We can go to a motel together, can't we?"

"Any time you say. You name it."

He got up on his hands and knees and began kissing her. He only stopped when she slid under him and pulled him down on top of her."

End of scene. That's about as explicit as it ever gets.

In this coarser age, the titles and covers of these lusty old potboilers are good for giggle, if nothing else. You'll find plenty of examples at:

Lured Paperback Cover of the Week