Some of the books that were published in the past got banned due to various reasons. As a book collector, you would be interested in getting to know about these banned books. When you are going through the stories behind these books, you will get surprised to hear the reasons on why they got banned as well. These books have a high demand from the rare book collectors as only a limited number of copies were released to public.
Contents
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita is a book that got banned due to the nature of content written in it. Most of the people who read this book ended up with disappointment. That’s because the book presented a bitter hearted story that is related to American values that existed in 20th Century. Among the content, you can also find several erotic passages as well. However, the controversial subject highlighted by this book forced the authorities to implement a ban on the book. As a result, the book was completely banned in numerous countries, such as United Kingdom and France.
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The Satanic Verses was banned while issuing a death warrant to the owner. Therefore, it is one of the most controversial books that we are going to present in this list. A limited number of modern books that are available for sale come along absurd publication histories. Due to the same reason, Salman Rushdie had to go to Iran and hide as well. Even the Japanese translator of this book got killed. The book was then found to be burning in the streets of Britain.
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Tropic of Cancer written by Henry Miller was one of the most popular books. Henry Miller was a person who had a frank sexuality. He highlighted it through Tropic of Cancer book. Due to the same reason, the book became quite popular as well. Lots of people got the opportunity to go through it. The content written within this book was once described by a Judge in Pennsylvania as an open sever. Due to the same reason, authorities were forced to implement a ban on this book as well. This is one of the most controversial sexual books that were published as well.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Most of the books that were published in Europe ended up in the Nazi book burning bonfires. However, some of the book could survive. They included books from Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann and Kafka. During this time period, we could also see how many books got banned. Among those books that got banned, All Quiet on the Western Front holds a prominent place. The National Socialists noticed that this book is offering unpatriotic content. As a result, they were forced to ban this book. Almost all the copies of the book were destroyed as well.
Ulysses by James Joyce
Ulysses written by James Joyce can be considered as one of the highbrow books to be published. That’s mainly due to the masturbation references that were included in the book. The section which contained such contain was declared as in appropriate by the courts. As a result, the author was forced to remove the section. However, it was later found out that many other parts of the book contain content related around somewhat controversial topics. In fact, the passages were filled with filth. Hence, United States and United Kingdom went ahead and banned Ulysses book during the 1930s. The United States Postal Service even took appropriate measures to burn all the copies of the book that were being sent in mail.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Brave New World book was written by Aldous Huxley in order to showcase how it is like to be living in a world that is built upon artificial comfort. This world is filled with censors, exploitation and braveness. In Ireland, people noticed that Brave New World is sharing content that is against their religion. Moreover, they also noticed that the content in the book is offensive to the concepts that are related with traditional family. The author has used offensive language throughout the book as well. In the meantime, people in India started calling Aldous Huxley as a pornographer because of the way how he has depicted some of the concepts within Brave New World book. Due to these reasons, the book was banned in numerous countries across the world.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Lady Chatterley’s Lover was a book that was able to introduce a seismic change to the society. D.H. Lawrence decided to publish this book privately in Italy back in the year 1928. However, Penguin, which is the publisher of the book decided to make it a worldwide publication in the year 1960. Along with that, the book received a lot of attention. This even resulted in one of the most famous trials in the history of literature as well. During the trial, the book publisher E.M. Froster was asked whether he would mind allowing his wife or servants to read the book. This book was banned after the trial.
Animal Farm, George Orwell
George Orwell decided to write the book titled Animal Farm in order to showcase the brutality of communism. Due to the same reason, this book received lots of negative comments from nations that had communism. The book was immediately banned within USSR. The ban of the book was lifted along with the fall of Berlin wall. However, Animal Farm book is still banned in North Korea and Cuba. They have banned this book for the same reasons as Soviets.
As you can see, there have been reasons for these books to get banned. However, it will not the authors stop writing books under such controversial topics in the future.
