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.

Author: Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch
Translator: Joachim Neugroschel
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages: 186pp
Size: 5.5 x 8.5 
Notes: paperback
Release Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 978-0140447811