About this book
Graham Masterton's 1975 guide was one of the bestselling books of its kind in the United Kingdom, offering candid and practical advice about sexual pleasure with unusual directness for its era. Published in the wake of Alex Comfort's The Joy of Sex (1972), it addressed female sexuality and heterosexual relationships in the frank, instructional style that characterised a wave of 1970s sexual self-help literature. Masterton went on to write horror novels and numerous further sex guides; this title remained his most commercially successful non-fiction work. In Ireland, it was placed on the Register of Prohibited Publications under broad obscenity provisions that routinely targeted practical sexual knowledge alongside explicitly erotic material.
Why it was banned
Banned in Ireland under Part II of the Register of Prohibited Publications on grounds of obscenity. Published by W.H. Allen, London. Cited in parliamentary answers as an example of titles still formally listed on the register — illustrating how sexual self-help literature was routinely suppressed under broad Irish moral censorship provisions. As of 2025 the book remained on the register, which had not been formally wound down.
Bans
| Country | Year | Reasons | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 1985 | SexualObscenity | ||
| Register of Prohibited Publications, Part II. Still formally listed as of the 2025 parliamentary response. | ||||
