Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of human sexual relationships which have the power to or are intended to arouse the reader sexually.^[1] Such erotica takes the form of novels, short stories, poetry, true-life memoirs, and sex manuals. A common feature of the genre are transgressive sexual fantasies on such themes as prostitution, orgies, homosexuality, sado-masochism, cross-dressing, incest and many other taboo subjects and fetishes, which may or may not be expressed in explicit language.^[2] Other common elements are satire and social criticism. Despite cultural taboos on such material, circulation of erotic literature was not seen as a major problem before the invention of printing, as the costs of producing individual manuscripts limited distribution to a very small group of readers. The invention of printing, in the 15th century, brought with it both a greater market and increasing restrictions, which took the form of censorship and legal restraints on publication on grounds of obscenity.^[3] Because of this, much of the production of this type of material became clandestine.^[4]

Much erotic literature features erotic art, illustrating the text.

Erotic verse[link]

Sappho, the tenth Muse, fresco from Pompeii

Early periods[link]

Many erotic poems have survived from Ancient Greece and Rome, the authors including the Greeks Straton of Sardis, Sappho of Lesbos (lyrics); and the Romans Automedon (The Professional and Demetrius the Fortunate), Philodemus (Charito), Marcus Argentarius, Catullus, Propertius, Tibullus, Ovid, Martial and Juvenal and the anonymous Priapeia.^[5] Some later Latin authors also wrote erotic verse, e.g. Joannes Secundus. In the Renaissance period many poems were not written for publication and merely circulated in manuscript among a relatively limited readership. Such were the Sonnets of William Shakespeare who also wrote the erotic poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece.^[6]

Seventeenth and eighteenth centuries[link]

In the 17th century John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647–80) was notorious for obscene verses, many of which were published posthumously in compendiums of poetry by him and other Restoration rakes such as Sir Charles Sedley, Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, and George Etherege. Though many of the poems attributed to Rochester were actually by other authors, his reputation as a libertine was such that his name was used as a selling point by publishers of collections of erotic verse for centuries after. One poem which definitely was by him was "A Ramble in St. James's Park" in which the protagonist's quest for healthy exercise in the park uncovers instead "Bugg'ries, Rapes and Incest" on ground polluted by debauchery from the time when "Ancient Pict began to Whore". This poem was being censored from collections of Rochester's poetry as late as 1953, though, in line with a general change in attitudes to sexuality, it was dramatised as a scene in the film The Libertine about his life based on an existing play.^[7][8]

Rochester

English collections of erotic verse by various hands, include the Drollery collections of the 17th century; Pills to Purge Melancholy (1698–1720); the Roxburghe Ballads; Bishop Percy's Folio; The Musical Miscellany; National Ballad and Song: Merry Songs and Ballads Prior to the Year AD 1800 (1895-7) edited by J. S. Farmer; the three volume Poetica Erotica (1921) and its more obscene supplement the Immortalia (1927) both edited by T. R. Smith.^[9] French collections include Les Muses gaillardes (1606) Le Cabinet satyrique (1618) and La Parnasse des poetes satyriques (1622).^[10]

A famous collection of four erotic poems, was published in England in 1763, called An Essay on Woman. This included the title piece, an obscene parody of Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man"; "Veni Creator: or, The Maid's Prayer", which is original; the "Universal Prayer", an obscene parody of Pope's poem of the same name, and "The Dying Lover to his Prick", which parodies "A Dying Christian to his Soul" by Pope. These poems have been attributed to John Wilkes and/or Thomas Potter and receive the distinction of being the only works of erotic literature ever read out loud, in their entirety in the House of Lords--before being declared obscene and blasphemous by that august body and the supposed author, Wilkes, declared an outlaw.^[11]

Robert Burns worked to collect and preserve Scottish folk songs, sometimes revising, expanding, and adapting them. One of the better known of these collections is The Merry Muses of Caledonia (the title is not by Burns), a collection of bawdy lyrics that were popular in the music halls of Scotland as late as the 20th century.

Nineteenth century[link]

One of the 19th century's foremost poets--Algernon Charles Swinburne--devoted much of his considerable talent to erotic verse, producing, inter alia, twelve eclogues on flagellation titled The Flogging Block "by Rufus Rodworthy, annotated by Barebum Birchingly";^[12] more was published anonymously in The Whippingham Papers (ca. 1888).^[13] Another notorious anonymous 19th century poem on the same subject is The Rodiad, ascribed (seemingly falsely and in jest^[14]) to George Colman the Younger.^[15] John Camden Hotten even wrote a pornographic comic opera, Lady Bumtickler’s Revels, on the theme of flagellation in 1872.^[16]

Pierre Louÿs helped found a literary review, La Conque in 1891,^[17] where he proceeded to publish Astarte--an early collection of erotic verse already marked by his distinctive elegance and refinement of style. He followed up in 1894 with another erotic collection in 143 prose poems--Songs of Bilitis (Les Chansons de Bilitis), this time with strong lesbian themes.

Twentieth century[link]

Although D. H. Lawrence could be regarded as a writer of love poems, his usually deal in the less romantic aspects of love such as sexual frustration or the sex act itself. Ezra Pound in his Literary Essays complained of Lawrence's interest in his own "disagreeable sensations" but praised him for his "low-life narrative." This is a reference to Lawrence's dialect poems akin to the Scots poems of Robert Burns, in which he reproduced the language and concerns of the people of Nottinghamshire from his youth. He called one collection of poems Pansies partly for the simple ephemeral nature of the verse but also a pun on the French word panser, to dress or bandage a wound. "The Noble Englishman" and "Don't Look at Me" were removed from the official edition of Pansies on the grounds of obscenity, which he felt wounded by.^{[citation needed]}

From the age of 17 Gavin Ewart acquired a reputation for wit and accomplishment through such works as "Phallus in Wonderland" and "Poems and Songs", which appeared in 1939 and was his first collection. The intelligence and casually flamboyant virtuosity with which he framed his often humorous commentaries on human behaviour made his work invariably entertaining and interesting. The irreverent eroticism for which his poetry is noted resulted in W H Smith's banning of his "The Pleasures of the Flesh" (1966) from their shops.^{[citation needed]}

Canadian poet John Glassco wrote Squire Hardman (1967), a long poem in heroic couplets, purporting to be a reprint of an 18th century poem by George Colman the Younger, on the theme of flagellation.^[18]

Erotic fiction[link]

Erotic fiction is the name given to fiction that deals with sex or sexual themes, generally in a more literary or serious way than the fiction seen in pornographic magazines and sometimes including elements of satire or social criticism. Such works have frequently been banned by the government or religious authorities. It should be noted, however, that apparently non-fictional works dealing with sex or sexual themes may contain fictional elements; calling an erotic book 'a memoir' is a literary device that is common in this genre. For reasons similar to those that make pseudonyms both commonplace and often deviously set up, the boundary between fiction and non-fiction is often very diffuse.

History of western erotic fiction[link]

Ancient, medieval, and early modern erotic fiction[link]

1757 Latin edition of the Dialogues of Luisa Sigea (first published c. 1660) by Nicholas Chorier

Title-page and frontispiece of The London Jilt; Or, the Politick Whore, London, 1683

Classic erotica from the Ancient World includes the Song of Songs from the Old Testament and the Roman Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter (later made into a film by Fellini).

From the medieval period we have the Decameron (1353) by the Italian Giovanni Boccaccio (made into a film by Pasolini) which features tales of lechery by monks and the seduction of nuns from convents. This book was banned in many countries. Even five centuries after publication copies were seized and destroyed by the authorities in the USA and the UK. For instance between 1954 and 1958 eight orders for destruction of the book were made by English magistrates.^[19]

From the 15th century another classic of Italian erotica is a series of bawdy folk tales called the Facetiae by Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini. The Tale of Two Lovers (Latin: Historia de duobus amantibus) written in 1444 was one of the bestselling books of the fifteenth century, even before its author, Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, became Pope Pius II. It is one of the earliest examples of an epistolary novel, full of erotic imagery. The first printed edition was published by Ulrich Zel in Cologne between 1467 and 1470.

The 16th century was notable for the Heptameron of Marguerite de Navarre (1558), inspired by Boccaccio's Decameron and the notorious I Modi which married erotic drawings, depicting postures assumed in sexual intercourse, by Giulio Romano, with obscene sonnets by Pietro Aretino.^[20]

Aretino also wrote the celebrated whore dialogue Ragionamenti in which the sex lives of wives, whores and nuns are compared and contrasted.^[21][22] Later works in the same genre include La Retorica delle Puttane (The Whore's Rhetoric) (1642) by Ferrante Pallavicino;^[23][24] L'Ecole des Filles (The school for girls) (1655), attributed to Michel Millot and Jean L'Ange.^[25][26] and The Dialogues of Luisa Sigea (c. 1660) by Nicolas Chorier.^[27][28] Such works typically concerned the sexual education of a naive younger woman by an experienced older woman and often included elements of philosophising, satire and anti-clericalism.^[29] Donald Thomas has translated L'École des filles, as The School of Venus, (1972), described on its back cover as "both an uninhibited manual of sexual technique and an erotic masterpiece of the first order".^[30][31] In his diary Samuel Pepys records reading and (in an often censored passage) masturbating over this work.^[32] Chorier's Dialogues of Luisa Sigea goes a bit further than its predecessors in this genre and has the older female giving practical instruction of a lesbian nature to the younger woman plus recommending the spiritual and erotic benefits of a flogging from willing members of the holy orders.^[33] This work was translated into many languages under various different titles, appearing in English as A Dialogue between a Married Woman and a Maid in various editions.^[34] The School of Women first appeared as a work in Latin entitled Aloisiae Sigaeae, Toletanae, Satyra sotadica de arcanis Amoris et Veneris. This manuscript claimed that it was originally written in Spanish by Luisa Sigea de Velasco, an erudite poetess and maid of honor at the court of Lisbon and was then translated into Latin by Jean or Johannes Meursius. The attribution to Sigea was a lie and Meursius was a complete fabrication; the true author was Nicolas Chorier.

A unique work of this time is Sodom, or the Quintessence of Debauchery (1684), a closet play by the notorious Restoration rake, John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester in which Bolloxinion, King of Sodom, authorises "that buggery may be used O'er all the land, so cunt be not abused", which order, though appealing to soldiery, has deleterious effects generally, leading the court physician to counsel: "Fuck women, and let Bugg'ry be no more".^[35]

The 18th century[link]

Scene from chapter eight of Fanny Hill

An early pioneer of the publication of erotic works in England was Edmund Curll (1675–1747) who published many of the Merryland books. These were a somewhat peculiar English genre of erotic fiction in which the female body (and sometimes the male) was described in terms of a landscape.^[36] The earliest work in this genre seems to be Erotopolis: The Present State of Bettyland (1684) probably by Charles Cotton. This was included, in abbreviated form, in The Potent Ally: or Succours from Merryland (1741). Other works include A New Description of Merryland. Containing a Topographical, Geographical and Natural History of that Country (1740) by Thomas Stretzer, Merryland Displayed (1741) and set of maps entitled A Compleat Set of Charts of the Coasts of Merryland (1745). The last book in this genre appears to be a parody of Laurence Sterne's A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy (1768) entitled La Souriciere. The Mousetrap. A Facetious and Sentimental Excursion through part of Austrian Flanders and France (1794) by "Timothy Touchit".^[36]

The rise of the novel in 18th century England provided a new medium for erotica. One of the most famous in this new genre was Fanny Hill (1748) by John Cleland. This book set a new standard in literary smut and was often adapted for the cinema in the 20th century.

French writers at this time also wrote erotica. One genre, which vies in oddness with the English "Merryland" productions, was inspired by the newly translated Arabian Nights and involved the transformation of people into objects which were in propinquity with or

Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue

employed in sexual relationships: such as sofas, dildos and even bidets. The climax of this trend is represented in French philosopher Diderot's Les Bijoux indiscrets (1747) in which a magic ring is employed to get women's vaginas to give an account of their intimate sexual histories.^[37]

Other works of French erotica from this period include Thérèse Philosophe (1748) by Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens which describes a girl's initiation into the secrets of both philosophy and sex.;^[38] The Lifted Curtain or Laura's Education, about a young girl's sexual initiation by her father, written by the French revolutionary politician Comte de Mirabeau; also Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in 1782.

In the late 18th century, such works as Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue and 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade were exemplars of the theme of sado-masochism and influenced later erotic accounts of Sadism and masochism in fiction. De Sade (as did the later writer Sacher-Masoch) lent his name to the sexual acts which he describes in his work.

The 19th century[link]

In the Victorian period, the quality of erotic fiction was much below that of the previous century—it was largely written by 'hacks'. Some works, however, borrowed from established literary models, such as Dickens. It also featured a curious form of social stratification. Even in the throes of orgasm, the social distinctions between master and servant (including form of address) were scrupulously observed. Significant elements of sado-masochism were present in some examples, perhaps reflecting the influence of the English public school, where flagellation was routinely used as a punishment.^[39] These clandestine works were often anonymous or written under a pseudonym, and sometimes undated, thus definite information about them often proves elusive.

English erotic novels from this period include The Lustful Turk (1828); The Romance of Lust (1873); The Convent School, or Early Experiences of A Young Flagellant (1876) by Rosa Coote [pseud.]; The Mysteries of Verbena House, or, Miss Bellasis Birched for Thieving (1882) by Etonensis [pseud.], actually by George Augustus Sala and James Campbell Reddie; The Autobiography of a Flea (1887); Venus in India (1889) by 'Captain Charles Devereaux';^[40][41][42] Flossie, a Venus of Fifteen: By one who knew this Charming Goddess and worshipped at her shrine (1897)^[43] and My Lustful Adventures by 'Ramrod'. A novel called Beatrice, once marketed as another classic of Victorian erotica from the pen of the ubiquitous "Anon", now appears to be a very clever 20th century pastiche of Victorian pornography. It first appeared in 1982 and was written by one Gordon Grimley, a sometime managing director of Penthouse International.^[44]

Clandestine erotic periodicals of this age include The Pearl, The Oyster and The Boudoir, collections of erotic tales, rhymes, songs and parodies published in London between 1879 and 1883.

The centre of the trade in such material in England at this period was Holywell Street, off the Strand, London. An important publisher of erotic material in the early 19th century was George Cannon (1789–1854), followed in mid-century by William Dugdale (1800–1868) and John Camden Hotten (1832–1873).^[45]

An important and entertaining conspectus and evaluation of 19th century (pre-1885) and earlier underground erotica, from the author's own private archive, is provided by Victorian writer Henry Spencer Ashbee in his bibliographical trilogy Index Librorum Prohibitorum (1877), Centuria Librorum Absconditorum (1879) and Catena Librorum Tacendorum (1885). His plot summaries of the works he discusses in these privately printed volumes are themselves a contribution to the genre. Originally of very limited circulation, changing attitudes have led to his work now being widely available.^[46][47]

Notable European works of erotica at this time were Gamiani, or Two Nights of Excess (1833) by Frenchman Alfred de Musset and Venus in Furs (1870) by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch.^[48][49] The latter erotic novella brought the attention of the world to the phenomenon of masochism, named after the author.

Towards the end of the century, a more "cultured" form of erotica began to appear by such as the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne who pursued themes of paganism, lesbianism and sado-masochism in such works as Lesbia Brandon and in contributions to The Whippingham Papers (1888) edited by St George Stock, author of The Romance of Chastisement (1866). This was associated with the Decadent movement, in particular, with Aubrey Beardsley and the Yellow Book. But it was also to be found in France, amongst such writers as Pierre Louys, author of Les chansons de Bilitis (1894) (a celebration of lesbianism and sexual awakening).

Pioneering works of male homosexual erotica from this time were The Sins of the Cities of the Plain (1881),^[50] which features the celebrated Victorian transvestite duo of Boulton and Park as characters,^[51] and Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal (1893).^[52][53][54]

Important publishers of erotic fiction at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the twentieth were Leonard Smithers (1861–1907)^[52] and Charles Carrington (1867–1921),^[55] both of whom were subject to legal injunctions from the British authorities in order to prohibit their trade in such material. Because of this legal harassment the latter conducted his business from Paris.^[56] Erotic fiction published by Carrington at this period includes Raped on the Railway: a True Story of a Lady who was first ravished and then flagellated on the Scotch Express (1894)^{[57][58][59][60]} and The Memoirs of Dolly Morton (1899) set on a slave-plantation in the Southern States of America.^[61][62][63]

The 20th century[link]

20th century erotic fiction includes such classics of the genre as: Suburban Souls (1901), published by Carrington and possibly written by him also;^[64] The Confessions of Nemesis Hunt (issued in three volumes 1902, 1903, 1906),^[65] probably by George Reginald Bacchus,^[66][67] printed by Duringe of Paris for Leonard Smithers in London;^[52] Josephine Mutzenbacher (1906) by Felix Salten; Sadopaideia (1907) by Anon (possibly Algernon Charles Swinburne);^[68] Les Mémoires d'un jeune Don Juan (1907) and the somewhat disturbing Les onze mille verges (1907) by Guillaume Apollinaire;^{[69][70][71][72]} The Way of a Man with a Maid (1908)^[73] and A Weekend Visit by Anon; Pleasure Bound Afloat (1908), Pleasure Bound Ashore (1909) and Maudie (1909) by Anon (probably George Reginald Bacchus); Manuel de civilité pour les petites filles à l'usage des maisons d'éducation (1917) and Trois filles de leur mère (1926) by Pierre Louys;^[74][75] Story of the Eye (1928) by Georges Bataille; Tropic of Cancer (1934) and Tropic of Capricorn (1938) by Henry Miller; The Story of O (1954) by Pauline Réage; Helen and Desire (1954) and Thongs (1955) by Alexander Trocchi; Ada, or Ardor (1969) by Vladimir Nabokov; Journal (1966), Delta of Venus (1978) ^[76] and Little Birds (1979) by Anaïs Nin^[77][78][79] and The Bicycle Rider (1985) by Guy Davenport.

Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita is often described as an erotic novel, but other critics view it more as a literary drama with elements of eroticism.^[80]

Lolita and The Story of O were published by Olympia Press, a Paris-based publisher, launched in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a rebadged version of the Obelisk Press he inherited from his father Jack Kahane. It published a mix of erotic fiction and avant-garde literary works. The Girls of Radcliff Hall is a roman à clef novel in the form of a lesbian girls' school story written in the 1930s by the British composer and bon-vivant Gerald Berners, the 14th Lord Berners, under the pseudonym "Adela Quebec", published and distributed privately in 1932.^[81]

Asian erotic fiction[link]

This section requires expansion.

Front cover of the 1705 edition of The Carnal Prayer Mat

Chinese literature has a tradition of erotic literature of its own. The most famous novel is the Jin Ping Mei. Another notable work is The Carnal Prayer Mat by Li Yu (1657). There is also a tradition of erotic fiction in Japan. Fan fiction (see below) and its Japanese counterpart, doujinshi, account for an enormous proportion of all erotica being written today; doujinshi mostly hand-published, fanfic mostly online.

Contemporary erotic fiction[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

In the 21st century, a number of female authors have risen to prominence, including Alison Tyler, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Carol Queen.

A development in contemporary erotica has been that, contrary to some previous views that it was mainly a male interest, many women readers are aroused by it, whether it be traditional pornography or tailor-made women's erotica.^{[citation needed]} Romantic novels are sometimes marketed as erotica—-or vice versa—-as "mainstream" romance in recent decades has begun to exhibit blatant (if poetic) descriptions of sex. Erotic romance is a relatively new genre of romance with an erotic theme and very explicit love scenes, but with a romance at the heart of the story. Erotic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction and utilizes erotica in a fantasy setting. These stories can essentially cover any of the other subgenres of fantasy, such as high fantasy, contemporary fantasy, or even historical fantasy.

Erotic fantasy has similarities to romantic fantasy but is far more graphic and goes into much more detail when describing sex scenes. Erotic fantasy can also be found in fan fiction. Much erotic fanfic is based on science fiction, fantasy, or mainstream television series (e.g. Star Trek, Beauty and the Beast, Highlander, Criminal Minds) and movies (e.g. Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings), using existing characters in relationships either hinted at or wholly undreamed of by their creators, in genres like slash (homoerotic fan fiction), elf porn, etc. Fan fiction and its Japanese counterpart, doujinshi, account for an enormous proportion of all erotica being written today;^{[citation needed]} doujinshi are mostly hand-published, fanfic is mostly online.

Internet erotic fiction[link]

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The Internet and digital revolution in erotic depiction has changed the forms of representing scenes of a sexual nature. One researcher^[82] concluded that erotic literature was available among the poor and performed at public readings in 18th century Britain.^[83]

Erotica was present on the Internet from the earliest days, as seen from rec.arts.erotica on Usenet. This news group was a moderated forum for the exchange of erotic stories that predated the creation of the World Wide Web. Most of this migrated to the alt.* hierarchy forums by the 1990s, including alt.sex.stories. The vast majority of Internet erotica is of an amateur nature, written for the enjoyment of the author and readers instead of for profit. Increased interactivity and anonymity allows casual or hobby writers the opportunity not only to author their own stories but also to share them with a world-wide audience. Many authors adopt colorful pseudonyms and can develop cult followings within their genre, though a small number use (or claim to use) their real names. Among transgendered or genderqueer authors it is a common practice to adopt a feminine or masculine alter-ego, although it is not unheard of for a writer to use his or her own given name.

Other accounts[link]

Writings of prostitutes[link]

Prostitution was the focus of much of the earliest erotic works. The very term "pornography" is derived from the Greek pornographos meaning "the writing of prostitutes", originally denoting descriptions of the lives and manners of prostitutes and their customers in Ancient Greece. According to Athenaeus in The Deipnosophists these constituted a considerable genre, with many lubricious treatises, stories and dramas on the subject.^[84]

Accounts of prostitution have continued as a major part of the genre of erotic literature.

In the 18th century directories of prostitutes and their services, such as Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies (1757–1795), provided both entertainment and instruction.

In the 19th century the sensational journalism of W. T. Stead's The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon (1885) about the procuring of underage girls into the brothels of Victorian London provided a stimulus for the erotic imagination. Stead's account was widely translated and the revelation of "padded rooms for the purpose of stifling the cries of the tortured victims of lust and brutality" and the symbolic figure of "The Minotaur of London" confirmed European observers worst imaginings about "Le Sadisme anglais" and inspired erotic writers to write of similar scenes set in London or involving sadistic English gentlemen. Such writers include D'Annunzio in Il Piacere, Paul-Jean Toulet in Monsieur de Paur (1898), Octave Mirbeau in Jardin des Supplices (1899) and Jean Lorrain in Monsieur de Phocas (1901).^[85]

A well known 21st century work in this genre is The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl(2005) by Belle de Jour.

Erotic memoirs[link]

Medallion portrait of Casanova, engraving by Berka, used as frontispiece for Icosameron (1788)

Erotic memoirs include Casanova's Histoire de ma vie, from the 18th century. Notable English works of this genre from the 19th century include The Ups and Downs of Life (1867) by Edward Sellon and My Secret Life by "Walter". Edward Sellon was a writer, translator and illustrator of erotic literature who wrote erotica for the pornographic publisher William Dugdale, including such works as The New Epicurean (1865).^[86] The true identity of "Walter" is very mysterious. Ian Gibson, in The Erotomaniac speculates that My Secret Life was really written by Henry Spencer Ashbee and therefore it is possible that "Walter" is a fiction. A famous German erotic work of this time, published in two parts in 1868 and 1875 entitled Pauline the Prima Donna purports to be the memoirs of the opera singer Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient. Various discrepancies with known facts of the singer's life however have led many to doubt the veracity of this book and the erotic adventures contained in the second volume, at least, appear to be very implausible. These include the authoress indulging in lesbian sadomasochism, group sex, sodomy, bestiality, scatology, necrophilia, prostitution and vampirism: all before she had reached the age of 27.^[87] 20th century contributions to the genre include Frank Harris's My Life and Loves (1922–27) and the convicted Austrian sex criminal Edith Cadivec's Confessions and Experiences and its sequel Eros, the Meaning of My Life (published together 1930-1).^[88] A 21st century example is One Hundred Strokes of the Brush Before Bed (2004) by Melissa Panarello.

Sex manuals[link]

Early sex manuals, as well as being instructive, are often, also, great works of literature. They include from the classical world, the lost works of Elephantis and Ovid's Ars Amatoria. The Indian Kama Sutra is one of the world's best known works of this type. The Ananga Ranga, a 12th-century collection of Indian erotic works, is a lesser known one. Also very famous, and often reprinted and translated, is The Perfumed Garden for the Soul's Recreation, a 16th century Arabic work by Sheikh Nefzaoui.

Legal status[link]

Early legislation[link]

To 1857[link]

Erotic or pornographic works have often been prosecuted, censored and destroyed by the authorities on grounds of obscenity.^[3] Originally, in England, erotic or pornographic publications were the concern of the ecclesiastical courts. After the Reformation the jurisdiction of these courts declined in favour of the Crown which licensed every printed book. Prosecutions of books for their erotic content alone were rare and works which attacked the church or state gave much more concern to the authorities than erotica or 'obscene libel' as it was then known. For instance the Licensing Act of 1662 was aimed generally at "heretical, seditious, schismatical or offensive books of pamphlets" rather than just erotica per se. Even this Licensing Act was allowed to lapse in 1695 and no attempt made to renew it.

The first conviction for obscenity in England occurred in 1727, when Edmund Curll was fined for the publication of Venus in the Cloister or The Nun in her Smock under the common law offence of disturbing the King's peace. This set a legal precedent for other convictions.^[89] The publication of other books by Curll, however, considered seditious and blasphemous, such as The Memoirs of John Ker, apparently most offended the authorities. Prosecutions of erotica later in the 18th century were rare and were most often taken because of the admixture of seditious and blasphemous material with the porn. For instance, no proceedings were taken against the publishers of Cleland's notorious Fanny Hill (1763).

1857 - 1959[link]

Erotic literature going up in smoke and its distributors being put in jail, courtesy of Anthony Comstock's New York Society for the Suppression of Vice.

It was the Obscene Publications Act 1857 which made the sale of obscene material a statutory offence, for the first time, giving the courts power to seize and destroy offending material. The origins of the Act itself were in a trial for the sale of pornography presided over by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Campbell, at the same time as a debate in the House of Lords over a bill aiming to restrict the sale of poisons. Campbell was taken by the analogy between the two situations, famously referring to the London pornography trade as "a sale of poison more deadly than prussic acid, strychnine or arsenic",^[90] and proposed a bill to restrict the sale of pornography; giving statutory powers of destruction would allow for a much more effective degree of prosecution. The bill was controversial at the time, receiving strong opposition from both Houses of Parliament, and was passed on the assurance by the Lord Chief Justice that it was "... intended to apply exclusively to works written for the single purpose of corrupting the morals of youth and of a nature calculated to shock the common feelings of decency in any well-regulated mind." The House of Commons successfully amended it so as not to apply to Scotland, on the grounds that Scottish common law was sufficiently stringent.

The Act provided for the seizure and destruction of any material deemed to be obscene, and held for sale or distribution, following information being laid before a "court of summary jurisdiction" (Magistrates' court). The Act required that following evidence of a common-law offence being committed - for example, on the report of a plain-clothes policeman who had successfully purchased the material - the court could issue a warrant for the premises to be searched and the material seized. The proprietor then would be called upon to attend court and give reason why the material should not be destroyed. Critically, the Act did not define "obscene," leaving this to the will of the courts.

Whilst the Act itself did not change, the scope of the work affected by it did. In 1868 Sir Alexander Cockburn, Campbell's successor as Lord Chief Justice, held in an appeal that the test of obscenity was "...whether the tendency of the matter charged as obscenity is to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences and into whose hands a publication of this sort may fall." This was clearly a major change from Campbell's opinion only ten years before - the test now being the effect on someone open to corruption who obtained a copy, not whether the material was intended to corrupt or offend.

Cockburn's declaration remained in force for several decades, and most of the high profile seizures under the Act relied on this interpretation. Known as the Hicklin test no cognisance was taken of the literary merit of a book or on the extent of the offending text within the book in question. The widened scope of the original legislation led to the subsequent notorious targeting of now acknowledged classics of world literature by such authors as Zola, James Joyce and D.H. Lawrence plus medical textbooks by such as Havelock Ellis rather than the blatant erotica which was the original target of this law.^[91]

In contrast to England, where actions against obscene literature were the preserve of the magistrates, in America such actions were the responsibility of the Postal Inspection Service, embodied in the federal and state Comstock laws, named after the postal officer and anti-obscenity crusader Anthony Comstock who proved himself officious in the work of suppression both in his official capacity and through his New York Society for the Suppression of Vice.^[92] The first such law was the Comstock Act, (ch. 258 17 Stat. 598 enacted March 3, 1873) which made it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious" materials through the mail. Twenty-four states passed similar prohibitions on materials distributed within the states.^[93]

Modern legislation[link]

This question of whether a book had literary merit eventually prompted a change in the law in both America and the UK. In the United Kingdom the Obscene Publications Act 1959 provided for the protection of "literature" but conversely increased the penalties against pure "pornography." The law defined obscenity and separated it from serious works of art.

The new definition read:

[A]n article shall be deemed to be obscene if its effect or (where the article comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.

After this piece of legislation questions of the literary merit of the work in question were allowed to be put before the judge and jury as in the Lady Chatterley trial. The publishers of the latter book were found not guilty by the court on the grounds of the literary merit of the book. In later prosecutions of literary erotica under the provisions of the act, however, even purely pornographic works with no apparent literary merit escaped destruction by the authorities. Purely textual pornographic texts, with no hint of libel, have not been brought to trial since the Inside Linda Lovelace trial collapsed in 1976. However, in October 2008, a man was charged under the Obscene Publications Act for posting fictional written material to the Internet allegedly describing the kidnap, rape and murder of the pop group Girls Aloud.^[94]

In the United States, the First Amendment gives protection to written fiction—although in one case, a man pled guilty and was convicted for writing unpublished stories (these were works of fiction concerning sexually abusing children) that were contained only in his personal and private journal. That conviction was later overturned on appeal.^[95]

Importing books and texts across national borders can sometimes be subject to more stringent laws than in the nations concerned. Customs officers are often permitted to seize even merely 'indecent' works that would be perfectly legal to sell and possess once one is inside the nations concerned. Canada has been particularly notorious for such border seizures.^{[citation needed]}

Although the 1857 and 1959 legislation outlawed the publication, retail and trafficking of certain writings and images, regarded as pornographic, and would order the destruction of shop and warehouse stock, meant for sale, the private possession of and viewing of pornography has not been prosecuted until recent times.^[96] In some nations, even purely textual erotic literature is still deemed illegal and is also prosecuted.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

Novels portal

• List of authors of erotic works
• List of pornographic book publishers
• List of genres
• Sadism and masochism in fiction
• Romance novel
• Women's erotica
• Early 20th century French spanking literature
• Literotica

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Brulotte, Gaëtan & Phillips, John (eds.) (2006) Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature. New York: Routledge
• Gibson, Ian (2001) The Erotomaniac London: Faber & Faber
• H. Montgomery Hyde (1964) A History of Pornography. London: Heinemann
• Kearney, Patrick J. (1982) A History of Erotic Literature, Parragon, ISBN 1-85813-198-7
• Kronhausen, Phyllis & Eberhard (1959) Pornography and the Law, The Psychology of Erotic Realism and Pornography. New York: Ballantine Books
• Kronhausen, Phyllis & Eberhard (1969) Erotic Fantasies, a Study of Sexual Imagination. New York: Grove Press
• Muchembled, Robert (2008) Orgasm and the West: a history of pleasure from the 16th century to the present, Polity, ISBN 0-7456-3876-7
• Sontag, Susan (1969). The Pornographic Imagination in Styles of Radical Will. Picador. ISBN 0-312-42021-8. 
• Weller, Michael J. The Secret Blue Book. Home Baked Books,[3], London.
• Williams, Linda (1999) Hardcore: Power, Pleasure, and the 'Frenzy of the Visible'. Berkeley: University of California Press

Further reading[link]

• Kearney, Patrick J. (1981) The Private Case: an annotated bibliography of the Private Case Erotica Collection in the British (Museum) Library; compiled by Patrick J. Kearney; with an introduction by G. Legman. London: J. Landesman
• Oetjen, Almut, ed. (1992 etc.) Lexikon der erotischen Literatur: Autoren, Werke, Themen, Aspekte looseleaf ISBN 3-89048-050-0
• Brulott, Gaëtan & Phillips, John, eds. (2006) Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature. New York: Routledge
• "Erotische Literatur" in: Harenbergs Lexikon der Weltliteratur, Band 2, 1989, ISBN 3-611-00091-4
• "Erotische Literatur" in: Metzler Literatur Lexikon, 2. Aufl. 1990, ISBN 3-476-00668-9
• "Erotische Literatur" in: Gero von Wilpert, Sachwörterbuch der Literatur, 8. Aufl. 2001, ISBN 3-520-23108-5
• "Erotische Literatur" in: Der Brockhaus: Literatur, 2. Aufl. 2004, ISBN 3-7653-0351-8
• Straight, Sheryl. The Erotica Bibliophile A Bibliography of Works Published by Charles Carrington

History[link]

General[link]

• Atkins, John (1970) Sex in Literature, 4 vols. 1970-1982
• Englisch, Paul (1927) Geschichte der erotischen Literatur, 1927, Reprint 1977, ISBN 3-921695-01-5
• Fischer, Carolin (1997) Gärten der Lust: eine Geschichte erregender Lektüren, Stuttgart ; Weimar: Metzler ISBN 3-476-01563-7, paperback: München: Dt. Taschenbuch-Verlag, 2000
• Folco, Philippe di, ed. (2005) Dictionnaire de la pornographie. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France
• Gnüg, Hiltrud (2002) Der erotische Roman: von der Renaissance bis zur Gegenwart, Ditzingen: Reclam ISBN 3-15-017634-4
• Kronhausen, Eberhard & Phyllis (1969) Bücher aus dem Giftschrank: eine Analyse der verbotenen und verfemten erotischen Literatur
• Pia, Pascal, ed. (1971) Dictionnaire des œuvres érotiques. Paris: Mercure de France
• Schreiber, Hermann (1969) Erotische Texte: sexualpathologische Erscheinungen in der Literatur

Ancient world and Middle Ages[link]

• Leick, G. (1994) Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature ISBN 0-415-06534-8
• Mulchandani, S. (2006) Erotic Literature of Ancient India: Kama Sutra, Koka Shastra, Gita Govindam, Ananga Ranga ISBN 81-7436-384-X

Modern times to 1900[link]

• Goulemot, J. (1993) Gefährliche Bücher: erotische Literatur, Pornographie, Leser und Zensur im 18. Jahrhundert ISBN 3-499-55528-X
• Moulton, I. (2000) Before Pornography: erotic writing in early modern Europe ISBN 0-19-513709-4

External links[link]

Sexuality portal

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Erotica

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Erotic poetry

• Alt Sex Stories Text Repository
• Real Sex Stories

Tom Brady

Brady in December 2007.
No. 12     New England Patriots
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1977-08-03) August 3, 1977 (age 34)
Place of birth: San Mateo, California
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Weight: 225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school: Junípero Serra
College: Michigan
NFL Draft: 2000 / Round: 6 / Pick: 199
Debuted in 2000 for the New England Patriots
Career history
New England Patriots (2000–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
7× Pro Bowl (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011) 2× First-team All-Pro (2007, 2010) 1× Second-team All-Pro (2005) 3× Super Bowl champion (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) 2× Super Bowl MVP (XXXVI, XXXVIII) 5× AFC Champion (2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011) Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (2005) Sporting News Sportsman of the Year (2004, 2007) AP Male Athlete of the Year (2007) 2× AP NFL MVP (2007, 2010) 2× AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2007, 2010) 3× AFC Offensive Player of the Year (2007, 2010, 2011) NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2009) New England Patriots All-time leader (Passing touchdowns) NFL 2000s All-Decade Team List of his accomplishments
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Pass attempts 5,321 Pass completions 3,397 Percentage 63.8 TD–INT 300–115 Passing yards 39,979 QB Rating 96.4 Stats at NFL.com

Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

In Brady's ten seasons as a starter, the Patriots have earned trips to the Super Bowl in half of them (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII, and XLVI), winning three of them (XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX). He has also won two Super Bowl MVP awards (XXXVI and XXXVIII), has been selected to seven Pro Bowls (and invited to eight, although he declined the 2006 invitation), and holds the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a single regular season. His career postseason record is 16–5. He also helped set the record for the longest consecutive win streak in NFL history with 21 straight wins over two seasons (2003–04),^[1] and in 2007 he led the Patriots to the first undefeated regular season since the institution of the 16-game schedule. Brady has the fourth-highest career passer rating of all time (96.4) among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 career passing attempts.

Brady and Joe Montana are the only two players in NFL history to win the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Super Bowl MVP awards multiple times (2 NFL MVPs, 2 Super Bowl MVPs). Brady and John Elway are the only two quarterbacks to lead their teams to five Super Bowls. In 2005, he was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year, and was named "Sportsman of the Year" by The Sporting News in 2004 and 2007.^[2] He was also named the NFL MVP in 2007 and 2010 (becoming the first player to be unanimously chosen as MVP in the 2010 season) as well as 2007 Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, the first time an NFL player has been honored since Joe Montana won in 1990.^[3]

Brady holds numerous regular season and postseason records, including: most touchdown passes in a regular season (50); highest touchdown-to-interception ratio in a single season (9:1); highest single-game completion percentage, regular season or postseason (26/28, 92.9%); most consecutive pass attempts without an interception (358); most consecutive regular-season home wins (31);^[4] highest winning percentage of any quarterback during his first 100 starts (76 wins); most completions in one Super Bowl (32); longest streak of games with 3 or more touchdown passes (10 games); and most career completions in Super Bowl history (127), most career yards in Super Bowl history (1,275), longest streak of completions in a single Super Bowl (16), most touchdown passes in a quarter (5); most touchdown passes in a half of a playoff game (5), and most touchdown passes in a playoff game (6, tied). Brady is the fourth-fastest player to reach 200 career passing touchdowns (he did so in 116 games), and the first ever to reach this mark before throwing 100 career interceptions (he had 88). He is only the sixth player to reach 300 career passing touchdowns, and his interception total at the time (115) was the lowest of anyone to reach it by a significant margin. He is the only quarterback to lead five different teams to at least 13 wins in a season and four different teams to at least 14 wins in a season. His winning percentage in the regular season (.780) is the best all-time of the Super Bowl era by a significant margin. He is the only quarterback to record two seasons with a passer rating over 110.0 and is the only quarterback to record two straight seasons with a passer rating over 105.0.

He and Bill Belichick have also combined to form one of the greatest quarterback-coach tandems in NFL history, winning 124 regular season games and 16 postseason games together, as well as appearing in five Super Bowls together, all NFL records. Considering his many achievements, and his late draft selection (6th round, 199th selection), many analysts, including those at the NFL Network, have called Brady the best NFL draft pick (or draft steal) of all time, as well as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.^[5][6][7][8] Before the 2011 season, his fellow players voted him the best player in the NFL.^[9]

Early years[link]

Brady was born near San Francisco in San Mateo, California, the son of Galynn Patricia (née Johnson) and Thomas Brady, Sr.^[10] He was raised in a Catholic family of exceptionally gifted athletes, and is of Irish and Prussian-German descent.^{[11][12][13][14]} Brady regularly attended 49ers games in the 1980s, where he became a fan of quarterback Joe Montana; since then, Brady has mentioned Montana as one of his inspirations and an idol.^[15] One of the games Brady attended was the 1981 NFC Championship, in which Montana threw The Catch to Dwight Clark, with Brady only being four-years-old at the time.^[16]

Brady graduated from Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California.^[17] He has three older sisters.^[18] Brady was also drafted as a catcher in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos.^[19]

College career[link]

Brady played college football for, and graduated from, the University of Michigan.^[20][21] He was a backup his first two years, while teammate and future NFL quarterback Brian Griese led the Wolverines to a share of the national championship in 1997 in the Rose Bowl. When he enrolled at Michigan, Brady was seventh on the depth chart and had an intense struggle to get some playing time. At one point, Brady hired a sports psychologist to help him cope with frustration and anxiety and even considered transferring to Cal.^[22][23] Brady battled for the starting job with Drew Henson,^[21] ultimately starting every game in the 1998 and 1999 seasons under Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. During his first full year as starter, he set Michigan records for most pass attempts and completions in a season (214).^[24] Brady was All-Big Ten (honorable mention) both seasons and team captain his senior year. The Wolverines won 20 of 25 games when he started and shared the Big Ten Conference title in 1998. Brady capped that season with a win over Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl.^[25] In the 1999 season, Brady led Michigan to an overtime win in the Orange Bowl over Alabama, throwing for 369 yards and four touchdowns.^[21]

Professional career[link]

2000 season[link]

Brady was selected with pick #199, a compensatory pick, in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. According to Michael Holley's book Patriot Reign, the Patriots were considering Brady and Tim Rattay, both of whom had received positive reviews from then-quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein. Ultimately, the Patriots front office chose Brady. Even though the Patriots drafted a future superstar in the next to last round, the class of 2000 was a mediocre vintage for quarterbacks. Brady, Chad Pennington and Marc Bulger were the only ones to see success at the NFL level.

The Patriots made the unusual decision to carry four quarterbacks (instead of three) on the roster. Brady started the season as the fourth string quarterback, behind starter Drew Bledsoe and backups John Friesz and Michael Bishop; by season's end, he was number two on the depth chart behind Bledsoe. During his rookie season, he was 1-of-3 passing, for six yards.

2001 season[link]

The Patriots opened the season with a 23–17 loss at Cincinnati, with Bledsoe as the starting quarterback. Their second game, and home opener, on September 23, was against their AFC East rival, the New York Jets. Bledsoe was again the starter, when in the fourth quarter he suffered internal bleeding after a hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. Bledsoe returned for the next series, but was replaced with Brady for the Patriots' final series of the game. New York would hold on to win, 10–3, and the Patriots fell to 0–2 on the season.^[26]

Brady was named the starter for the season's third game, against the Indianapolis Colts. In his first two games as starter, Brady posted unspectacular passer ratings of 79.6 and 58.7, respectively, in a 44–13 victory over the Colts (in their last season in the AFC East) and a 30–10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.^[27]

In the Pats' fifth game, Brady began to find his stride. Trailing the visiting San Diego Chargers 26–16 in the fourth quarter, Brady led the Patriots on two scoring drives to force overtime, and another in overtime to set up a winning field goal. Brady finished the game with 33 pass completions on 54 attempts, for 364 yards, and two touchdowns.^[28] The following week, Brady again played well during the rematch at Indianapolis, with a passer rating of 148.3 in a 38–17 win.^[29] The Patriots went on to win 11 of the 14 games Brady started, and six straight to finish the regular season, winning the AFC East and entering the playoffs with a first-round bye. Brady finished with 2,843 passing yards and 18 touchdowns and earned an invitation to the Pro Bowl.

In Brady's first playoff game, against the Oakland Raiders, he threw for 312 yards and led the Patriots back from a ten-point fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime, where they won on an Adam Vinatieri field goal. A controversial play in that game came when, trailing by three in the fourth quarter, Brady lost control of the ball after being hit by fellow Wolverine Charles Woodson. Oakland initially recovered the ball, but, citing the "tuck rule," which states that any forward throwing motion by a quarterback begins a pass even if the quarterback loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body, referee Walt Coleman overturned the call on instant replay, ruling it an incomplete pass rather than a fumble.

In the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brady injured his knee, and was relieved by Bledsoe. The Patriots won the game and were immediately instituted by Las Vegas oddsmakers as 14-point underdogs against the NFC champion St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.

The score was tied with 1:21 left in the Super Bowl and the Patriots were at their own 15—with no timeouts—when sportscaster and Super Bowl-winning coach John Madden said he thought the Patriots should run out the clock and try to win the game in overtime. Instead, Brady drove the Patriots' offense down the field to the Rams 31 before spiking the ball with seven seconds left. The Patriots won the game on another Adam Vinatieri field goal as time expired. Brady was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXVI while throwing for 145 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions, becoming the then-youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl.

2002 season[link]

Brady and the Patriots finished the year at 9–7, tied with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins for the best record in the division; however, the Jets won the division on the third tiebreaker, and the Patriots missed the playoffs.

Although posting a career-low single-season rating of 85.7, Brady threw for a league-leading 28 touchdown passes and 921 more yards than in 2001, though his fourteen interceptions would turn out to be a career high.^[27] However, Brady played much of the second half of the season with a shoulder injury, and New England head coach Bill Belichick has since indicated that if the Patriots had made the playoffs, Brady would not have been able to play in the first game due to that injury.

2003 season[link]

In the 2003 NFL season, after a 2–2 start, Brady led the Patriots to twelve consecutive victories to finish the season, thus winning the AFC East. Statistically, Brady's strongest game of the season was against Buffalo, when he achieved a season-high quarterback rating of 122.9.^[27] Brady finished with 3,620 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, and was second in NFL MVP voting to rival Peyton Manning and Steve McNair. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Patriots defeated the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts. On February 1, 2004, Brady led the Patriots to a 32–29 victory over the NFC champion Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII and was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time. During the game, Brady threw for 354 yards with three touchdowns and set the record for most completions by a QB in a Super Bowl (32). With 1:08 left in the fourth quarter and the score tied 29–29, Brady engineered a drive to put the Patriots in position for the game-winning field goal.

2004 season[link]

Brady during Super Bowl XXXIX

During the 2004 season, Brady helped the Patriots set an NFL record with 21 straight wins dating from the previous year, an accomplishment honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (though for official records, the NFL considers it an 18-game regular season winning streak; it does not count playoff games). New England's 14–2 record equalled that of their 2003 season, as well as the best regular-season record ever for a defending champion. The Patriots also won the AFC East divisional title for the third time in four years. Brady threw for 3,692 yards and 28 touchdowns, with a 92.6 passer rating, and was voted to his second Pro Bowl. In the AFC playoffs, Brady led the Patriots to victories over the Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brady played his best game of the year in Pittsburgh despite requiring intravenous treatment the previous night when he ran a temperature of 103 degrees. Against the NFL's best defensive team, Brady recorded a quarterback passer rating of 130.5, his highest of the season.^[27] On February 6, 2005, the Brady-led Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles to win Super Bowl XXXIX. Brady threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns, most of which went to Deion Branch, while capturing the Patriots' third championship in four years.

2005 season[link]

During the 2005 season, the Patriots were forced to rely more on Brady's passing, due to injuries suffered by running backs Corey Dillon, Patrick Pass, and Kevin Faulk. Brady also had to adjust to a new center and a new running back: Heath Evans. The results were positive; Brady finished first in the league with 4,110 passing yards and third in the league with 26 touchdowns. At 92.3, his 2005 passer rating was the second-highest of his career at the time, although he equalled his career high for interceptions with fourteen.^[27] He also rushed for 89 yards and fumbled a career-low four times.^[27] Brady and the Patriots finished with a 10–6 record, winning their third straight AFC East title. Some of the highlights of the season included another game with the Steelers, in which Brady helped lead the team on the game-winning drive. When the Patriots visited the Atlanta Falcons, Brady achieved a regular season-high rating of 140.3.^[27]

In the playoffs, Brady led the Patriots to a 28–3 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild card round; however, on January 14, 2006, the Patriots lost 27–13 to the Denver Broncos at INVESCO Field. Brady threw for 346 yards in the game with one touchdown and two interceptions, in the first playoff loss of his career. After the season's end, it was revealed that Brady had been playing with a sports hernia since December. Linebacker Willie McGinest commented on it and said he knew, but Brady continued on playing. This is the main reason Brady did not go to the Pro Bowl when he was invited.^[30]

Despite not playing in the game, Brady was present at Super Bowl XL, as the official coin tosser and as part of a celebration of Super Bowl MVP Award winners.

Brady on the sideline with teammates Randy Moss and Jabar Gaffney, after throwing for his record-breaking 50th passing touchdown of the season at Giants Stadium.

2006 season[link]

Brady led the Patriots to a 12–4 record and the fourth seed in the AFC playoffs despite having an almost completely new receiving corps. In the regular season, Brady threw for 3,529 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was not among the players initially selected to the Pro Bowl,^[31] although he was offered an injury-replacement selection when Philip Rivers was forced to withdraw (which he declined).^[32]

In the postseason, the Patriots first hosted their division rivals, the New York Jets, in the wild-card round. The Patriots defeated the Jets 37–16, as Brady went 22–34 for 212 yards and two TDs. In the divisional round, the Patriots traveled to San Diego to take on the Chargers. This was Brady's first playoff game in his home state of California. Brady and the Patriots struggled against the Chargers, whom many had picked as favorites to win Super Bowl XLI. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Patriots down by eight points, Brady and the Patriots started a key drive that would ultimately decide the game. After a 49-yard pass play to Reche Caldwell, a Stephen Gostkowski field goal gave the Patriots a 24–21 win.

In the AFC championship, the Patriots faced the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots and Colts had faced each other twice in the previous three postseasons at Foxboro; this game, however, was played at Indianapolis. The Patriots led at halftime, 21–6; however, the Colts staged a comeback, resulting in a last minute interception thrown by Brady, and a Patriots loss.

2007 season[link]

Playing with a dramatically overhauled receiver corps—in the 2007 offseason, the Patriots acquired wide receivers Donté Stallworth, Wes Welker, Kelley Washington and Randy Moss; tight end Kyle Brady; and running back Sammy Morris—Brady enjoyed what some sports writers have described as the best season ever by a quarterback.^[33] Brady, along with Moss, decided to withdraw from the 2008 Pro Bowl. The average score of a 2007 Patriots regular season game would be 37–17 by the end of the year.^[34] Brady not only led the Patriots to a 16–0 record, outscoring opponents by more than a 2-to-1 margin, but attained numerous career, franchise, and NFL records and milestones:

• Week 6: Visiting Dallas, he had a career-high five passing touchdowns in a 48–27 win. The win tied him with Roger Staubach for the most wins ever by a starting quarterback in his first 100 regular-season games, with 76.^[35]
• Week 7: In a 49–28 win at Miami, he had yet another record day, with six passing touchdowns, setting a franchise record. He also had the first perfect passer rating of his career.^[36]
• Week 8: In a 52–7 rout at home against Washington, he threw three touchdowns, giving him a career-best 30 for the season; his previous best was 28—in an entire season—in 2002 and 2004. The win also gave Brady a victory over every NFL franchise except New England.
• Week 9: In a come-from-behind 24–20 victory at Indianapolis, he threw for another three touchdowns, for a total of 33 on the season; his 32nd touchdown of the season, to Wes Welker, broke Babe Parilli's Patriots record of 31 touchdowns in a season—in five fewer games. It was also the ninth consecutive game in which he had thrown three or more touchdowns, breaking Peyton Manning's NFL record of eight.^[37]
• Week 11: Following the Patriots' bye week, Brady threw for another five touchdown passes in a 56–10 rout of Buffalo, breaking Steve Grogan's franchise record for career touchdown passes with 185.
• Week 12: In a 31–28 win over Philadelphia, he only threw for a single touchdown, ending his streak of three-touchdown games at ten, but reached 25,000 regular-season passing yards.
• Week 13: In another come-from-behind win, a 27–24 win against the Baltimore Ravens, he became the fourth quarterback—after Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, and Dan Marino (who did it twice)—to throw 40 touchdown passes in a season.
• Week 14: In a 34–13 victory against Pittsburgh, he threw four touchdowns, putting him third all-time for touchdown passes in a single season with 45, behind Peyton Manning in 2004 and Marino in 1984. It was his eleventh game with at least three touchdown passes, beating Marino's 1984 record of ten.^[38] He also reached the 4,000 yards passing mark for the second time in his career.
• Week 15: Brady, making his 108th consecutive regular-season start at quarterback, surpassed Joe Ferguson for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history, after Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Ron Jaworski.
• Week 16: Brady's third touchdown of the day was the Patriots' 71st total touchdown of the season, breaking the NFL record of 70 set by the Miami Dolphins in 1984. This was his twelfth game of the season with three or more touchdown passes, extending his own NFL record. This was also the Patriots', and Brady's, 18th consecutive regular-season win, tying the NFL record they set in 2003 and 2004.^[39]
• Week 17: Brady threw two touchdown passes; his second touchdown was his 50th, breaking Peyton Manning's 2004 record of 49. The pass was also Randy Moss' 23rd touchdown catch of the season, breaking Jerry Rice's record of 22 in a season. The win finished off the first 16–0 season in NFL history, and was the Patriots' 19th consecutive regular season win, breaking their own 2003–2004 league record of 18. Brady finished 398/578 for 4,806 yards (#3 all-time) and 50 touchdowns (#1 all time) versus only eight interceptions, and a 117.2 passer rating (#2 all-time). His 398 completions were fifth all-time. Brady was named the NFL MVP for this season, as well as Offensive Player of the Year.

2007 playoffs[link]

In the Patriots' first playoff game, an AFC Divisional game against Jacksonville, Brady began the game with an NFL postseason record sixteen consecutive completed passes, and finished the game with 26 completions in 28 attempts, a completion rate of 92.9%. That mark is the highest single-game completion percentage (for passers with at least 20 attempts) in NFL history, regular season or postseason.^[40] With the win, the Patriots matched the Dolphins as the only team to win 17 consecutive games in one season.

Statistically, Brady did not fare as well in the AFC Championship Game against the San Diego Chargers, throwing three interceptions (including his first interception in the red zone since the playoff loss to Denver). Nevertheless, the Patriots won their 18th game of the season, 21–12, to advance to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in seven seasons. Brady, with the 100th win of his career, also set an NFL record for the fewest games needed by a starting quarterback to do so: his 100–26 record is sixteen games better than Joe Montana's.^[41] In Super Bowl XLII, Brady was pressured heavily and sacked five times. The Patriots did manage to take the lead with a Brady touchdown to Moss with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Giants were able to score a last-minute touchdown to upset the Patriots 17–14.

Awards[link]

Brady won numerous NFL awards during the season: he was voted FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week (an award for quarterbacks) four times (in Weeks 6, 7, 11, and 17), selected as AFC Offensive Player of the Week five times (in Weeks 3, 6, 7, 14, and 17), and AFC Offensive Player of the Month for both September and October. On 2008-01-05, Brady was named the NFL MVP, garnering a record-tying 49 of 50 possible votes (the other vote went to Brett Favre), making him the first Patriot to ever win the award. He was also named NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2007 and 2010.

Brady in action against the Washington Redskins on August 28, 2009.

2008 season[link]

Brady did not play in any games during the 2008 preseason due to a right foot injury from the previous AFC Championship game.^[42] In the Patriots' 2008 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium, Brady's left knee was seriously injured midway through the first quarter on a hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard; he left the game and did not return. The team later confirmed that Brady would need surgery, and that he had been placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.^[43] It is believed he tore both his anterior cruciate ligament and his medial collateral ligament.^[44] The injury ended Brady's streak of 111 consecutive starts (fourth in the list of most consecutive starts by an NFL quarterback, behind Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Ron Jaworski).^[45] Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction at the Los Angeles Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic October 6, using Brady's patellar tendon graft to replace the torn ligament, and also repaired his medial collateral ligament, through a separate incision in his left knee.^[46] An infection in the wound resulted in further debridement surgery several times since the original procedure. Brady received IV antibiotics for this infection which, at the time, threatened to delay his rehab.^[47][48]

2009 season[link]

In his first official game back from injury, Brady threw for 378 yards and two touchdowns in the 2009 season opener against the Buffalo Bills. In the final minutes of the game, the Patriots were down 24–13 before Brady and Benjamin Watson connected on two straight touchdowns to lead the Patriots to a 25–24 win. Brady was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 13th time in his career for his performance.

On October 18, 2009, in an early season snowstorm, Brady set an NFL record against the Tennessee Titans for most touchdowns in a single quarter, throwing five (two to Moss, one to Faulk, and two to Welker) in the second quarter. Brady finished the game with six touchdowns, tying his career best, and 380 yards, completing 29 of 34 attempts, finishing with a nearly perfect passer rating of 152.8. The Patriots' 59–0 victory over the Titans tied the record for the largest margin of victory since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger,^[49] and set a record for largest halftime lead in NFL history (they led 45–0). He was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week again for his performance. In Week 16, Brady set a Patriots regular season record with an 88.5% completion percentage against the Jacksonville Jaguars; he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week after the game.

Brady would finish the 2009 regular season with 4,398 yards passing and 28 touchdowns for a 96.2 rating, despite a broken right ring finger and three fractured ribs, all which were suffered over the course of the season.^[50] He was selected as a reserve to the 2010 Pro Bowl and named the 2009 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.^[51]

Brady ended the 2009 season throwing 3 interceptions in a Wild Card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, 33–14, his first career home playoff loss, and the first playoff loss at home by a New England Patriots quarterback since 1978.^[52]

2010 season – Second MVP[link]

On September 10, 2010, Brady signed a four-year, $72 million contract extension making him the highest-paid player in the NFL. The extension includes $48.5 million in guaranteed money and will likely keep Brady with the Patriots through the 2014 NFL season.^[53] The news of the contract occurred on the same day Brady escaped uninjured from a 6:30 a.m. car accident with what the Boston Herald called, "a road scofflaw".^[54]

Brady became the quickest to achieve 100 regular season wins by helping his team defeat the Miami Dolphins 41–14 on October 4, 2010.^[55]

On November 21, 2010, Brady tied Brett Favre's record of winning 25 consecutive regular-season home starts, in a 31–28 win over the Indianapolis Colts.^[56] Brady's last regular-season loss at home was on November 12, 2006, a 17–14 loss to the New York Jets.^[57] On December 6, 2010, Brady set an NFL record by winning 26 consecutive regular-season home starts, in a 45–3 victory over the New York Jets.

On December 19, 2010, in a 31–27 home win over the Green Bay Packers, Brady had his seventh straight two-touchdown game without an interception, surpassing Don Meredith's NFL record of six such games. The next week in a 34–3 road win over the Buffalo Bills, Brady surpassed Bernie Kosar's 1990–1991 record of 308 consecutive pass attempts without an interception.

Brady threw for 3,900 yards with 36 touchdowns and just four interceptions on the season. He had an 111.0 passer rating, giving him, at the time, two of the top five season ratings in NFL history,^[58] and making him the first player to finish with a rating above 110 in two different seasons. Brady's 9:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio (36:4) would break his own 2007 single-season record of 6.25:1, which he set in 2007, and make him the first qualifying quarterback^[59] to have had at least a 6:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in two different seasons.

Brady was selected as a starter to the 2011 Pro Bowl. However, he pulled out of the game (and was replaced by former backup Matt Cassel of the Kansas City Chiefs) after undergoing surgery for a stress fracture in his right foot dating back to 2008.^[60] Brady was also the only unanimous selection for the AP All-Pro Team and was named the 2010 Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year. He also achieved by unanimous decision the MVP award for the second time in his career.

2011 season[link]

Tom Brady in Denver, Colorado, on December 18, 2011, as the Patriots and Broncos were about to play.

In Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season, Brady threw for 517 yards and 4 touchdowns, with one interception, against the Miami Dolphins, the second time he had thrown for 400 or more yards in a single game. It was the most ever by a Patriots quarterback in a single game (the previous record was Drew Bledsoe's 426 yards against Minnesota in 1994), and the fifth-highest total in NFL history, after Norm Van Brocklin, Warren Moon, Boomer Esiason (in an overtime game), and Dan Marino; Brady's performance was also the first 500-yard. four-touchdown performance since Y. A. Tittle in 1962. Moreover, Brady and Miami quarterback Chad Henne combined for an NFL-record 933 passing yards, including a Monday Night Football record for Brady.^[61][62] Brady's interception ended his regular-season streak of pass attempts without an interception at 358; Brady also became the 12th quarterback to complete a 99-yard pass play, to Wes Welker. Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his effort.

In Week 2, against the San Diego Chargers, Brady again threw for over 400 yards, completing 31 of 40 passes for 423 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions, all to second-year tight ends Rob Gronkowski (two) and Aaron Hernandez (one). Brady thus became the seventh quarterback in NFL history to pass for 400 or more yards in consecutive weeks, and the second Patriots quarterback to do so (Matt Cassel was the first, in 2008); the sixth quarterback to accomplish the feat, Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton, did so earlier on the same day that Brady did. Brady was again named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, making him the first player in 28 years to win that award in Week 1 and Week 2 of the same season.^[63] It also marked the first time a player followed a 500-yard passing game with a 400-yard passing game.^[64]

In Week 4, against the Oakland Raiders in Oakland, Brady tied Peyton Manning's record of 13 consecutive regular-season games with at least two touchdowns, and moved into ninth place, past his childhood idol Joe Montana, on the list of most touchdown passes, with 274.

In Week 15, Brady became only the second quarterback in NFL history with consecutive seasons with at least 35 passing touchdowns (after Brett Favre did it in 1995, 1996, and 1997), and the seventh with multiple seasons with at least 4,500 pass yards (after Dan Fouts, Dan Marino, Warren Moon, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees). The next week, Brady became the first quarterback with three seasons of 36 or more touchdowns.

In the regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills, Brady became the fourth quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season, finishing with 5,235; it surpassed Dan Marino's longstanding record of 5,084 passing yards, but finished the season second behind Drew Brees' 5,476.

2011 postseason[link]

In the Patriots' 45–10 rout of the Denver Broncos in the Divisional round, Brady set a personal postseason best with 363 passing yards, and tied an NFL record shared by Daryle Lamonica and Steve Young, throwing for 6 touchdown passes (he also had 1 interception). The win, his first postseason win since January 2008, gave Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick sole possession of the NFL record for postseason wins by a QB-coach combo with 15.

Statistics[link]

Regular season[link]