num_pages: 160
description: Venus in Furs describes the obsessions of Severin von Kusiemski, a European nobleman who desires to be enslaved to a woman. Severin finds his ideal of voluptuous cruelty in the merciless Wanda von Dunajew. This is a passionate and powerful portrayal of one man's struggle to enlighten and instruct himself and others in the realm of desire. Published in 1870, the novel gained notoriety and a degree of immortality for its author when the word "masochism"—derived from his name—entered the vocabulary of psychiatry. This remains a classic literary statement on sexual submission and control.
language: English
title: Venus in Furs
titlecomplete: Venus in Furs
characters: Wanda von Dunajew, Severin von Kusiemski
genres: Fiction, Erotica, German Literature, Romance, Literature, Classics, Sexuality, 19th Century, Novels, BDSM
ratings_count: 13550
places: Florence, Tuscany, Italy
publisher: Penguin Classics