This novel may well represent the highest moment in nineteenth-century sexual imagination. An unabashed portrait of a classic erotic drama, it is considered by critics of the form to be an unparalleled and wholly satisfying reading experience.

The Romance of Lust, or Early Experiences is a Victorian erotic novel written anonymously in four volumes during the years 1873–1876. The novel is told in first person, and the protagonist of the novel is Charlie Roberts. He catalogs his sexual experiences including incest with his sisters Eliza and Mary, sex with his governesses, and his later sexual exploits with various male and female friends, and acquaintances.