One of the many bestsellers from the 1930s which was banned. When this novel was on sale after it was banned, the unfortunate bookseller was prosecuted.
S6 E8 Dreadfully Common: Maugham ‘Cakes and Ale’ (1930)
S6 E6 Oh, James: Fleming ‘Diamonds are Forever’ (1956)
I really didn’t like this novel, but millions of James Bond can’t be wrong, can they?
S6 E5 Dirty Foreigners: O’Brien ‘The Lonely Girl’ (1962)
This novel is the further adventures of Caithleen and her sidekick Baba in the big city, as they search for fun, love and a free meal. A sequel to ‘The Country Girls’ (1960) it was automatically banned by a board who hated its author.
S6 E4 Obscene knowledge: Irish Family Planning Association ‘Family Planning’ (1976)
What happens when contraception is technically illegal but voluntary groups provide it anyway? Family planning information began to circulate widely during the 1970s and the censors did not like it. My guest, Dr Laura Kelly, helps me unravel a tale of blind eyes turned and court challenges.
S6 E3 Wanton: Powys ‘Mr Weston’s Good Wine’ (1927)
I haven’t read many novels like this – it’s a Christian allegory stuffed with Gothic sex. TF Powys was banned a numbers of times by the censors, who objected to his unique combination of sacred and profane.
S6 E2 Bottom wriggling: Anon ‘The memoirs of Dolly Morton’ (1899)
Banning antique erotica was a strange feature of the late censorship regime. Full of whipping and racism, this was not a book I enjoyed even if its history was fascinating.
S5 E9 Squalid glamour: Isherwood ‘Goodbye to Berlin’ (1939)
Cover art for this book today is heavily influenced by ‘Cabaret’ film and stage adaptations that grew out of this book. In the 1930s, Berlin was a byeword for transgressive excess, both sexual and political. This fine collection of stories inevitably attracted the censor’s ire.
S5 E8 All Cork: O’Faoláin ‘Bird Alone’ (1932)
When Seán O’Faoláin tried to do for Cork what Joyce had done for Dublin. He was disgusted when this love letter to his native city was banned and spent years agitating against censorship.
S5 E3 All the antis: Shatter ‘Laura’ (1989)
A bestseller in 1989, nobody took any offense at this slim novel by a prominent politician and solicitor until 2013. A silly, weird and revealing referral of ‘Laura’ the censorship board led to some interesting political gymnastics.
S5 E2 Phallic: Flynn, ‘My Wicked, Wicked Ways’ (1959)
Errol Flynn was extremely hot in his day but you might not see his beautiful face in the same way after reading his memoir. A scandalous take on Golden Age Hollywood, it was too salacious for the Irish market.
