Didn't Read It

A Smutty Valentine's Day Spectacular: Anne Rice's "Sleeping Beauty" Series

• Grace Todd • Season 2 • Episode 25

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50 Shades of Spanking! Join us for our Valentine's Day Spectacular as we explore the thrills of Anne Rice's naughty riff on the famous fairy tale, as well as censorship, fantasy, and a little V-Day game. 

As always, we are: 
-Asking with all the love in our hearts that you leave us a review or tell a friend about the show <3
-Accepting friends @didntreadit on Instagram 
-Accepting nemesis applications at didntreaditpod@gmail.com
-Thankful to Jess Versus (on Instagram @jessversus) for our incredible logo and assorted works of art
-Thankful to Black Iris Social Club for use of their beautiful space
-Thankful to William Albritton for our incredible theme song, "Books 2.0"
-Thankful to Wicked Cinema for our closing music, "A Love Story."

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>> Grace Todd:

The real fantasy is thoughtful, competent governance.

>> Leigh:

True.

>> Grace Todd:

Books, books, books.

>> Leigh:

Books, books, books.

>> Grace Todd:

Hello, and welcome to Didn't Read it, the podcast that wants to be spanked very badly.

>> Leigh:

True.

>> Grace Todd:

I am your host, Grace Todd, and with me again this week is beloved bestie of the pod, Leigh.

>> Leigh:

Oh, hello.

>> Grace Todd:

Hi, baby.

>> Leigh:

Hi.

>> Grace Todd:

How you doing?

>> Leigh:

I'm m. I'm, Good.

>> Grace Todd:

Good. I'm glad to hear.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. How are you doing?

>> Grace Todd:

I'm pretty good.

>> Leigh:

Look at us.

>> Grace Todd:

Look at. Look at us. Look at us go. And this is our. Didn't read it. Valentine's. Galentine's Spectacular. Do you have a valentine?

>> Leigh:

I do. I do. I feel as though also I have many valentines.

>> Grace Todd:

You know, the podcast is my valentine.

>> Leigh:

Yes.

>> Grace Todd:

The authors are my valentines.

>> Leigh:

Aw.

>> Grace Todd:

All, of the dead writers. Just me, on Valentine's Day, having a seance.

>> Leigh:

Trying. Sexy seance.

>> Grace Todd:

Trying to get weird with Mary Shelley from beyond the grave.

>> Leigh:

Sure.

>> Grace Todd:

She'd be fun.

>> Leigh:

I think so.

>> Grace Todd:

Susan Glassbowl, honestly, from last week's episode, she seems cool. Trying to think Herman Melville would, not be a good. He'd be an interesting Valentine. Just a deeply, deeply repressed guy. Gay man who liked boats.

>> Leigh:

Sure.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. You know, a little nautical.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Get a little ropey.

>> Leigh:

Naughty nautical.

>> Grace Todd:

Do you have big Valentine's plans?

>> Leigh:

No, I will be working.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah.

>> Leigh:

Fair. Woo.

>> Grace Todd:

how romantic.

>> Leigh:

Very, very.

>> Grace Todd:

Nothing like being on the clock this year. Your valentine is. Capitalism.

>> Leigh:

Yes. Labor.

>> Grace Todd:

The best valentine of all.

>> Leigh:

The inescapable Valentine. Yeah. Yeah. No, don't be sad. It's not the mood today. The mood today is love.

>> Grace Todd:

The mood today is, love. And also lust.

>> Leigh:

Oh.

>> Grace Todd:

And also, deep and abiding eroticism.

>> Leigh:

Oh. Oh. This is an adult Valentine's Day.

>> Grace Todd:

It is.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

And I guess because, you know, because we do edit the swears out, although our. Obviously, our. Our target demographic is not, children. I guess I will take a moment here at the beginning of the episode to say that while I am not going to read anything enormously penetrative, raunchy.

>> Leigh:

That'S, like, the definition of it, really.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah.

>> Leigh:

According to Congress, I guess.

>> Grace Todd:

I guess so.

>> Leigh:

Penetration.

>> Grace Todd:

and I'm not gonna read anything too graphic, but we are going to be talking sort of at length about penetration and in some detail about, f. And sex.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

So this is maybe not an episode to, like, put on in the car with, like, a kid in tow.

>> Leigh:

Don't do that.

>> Grace Todd:

Not that you should really do that with any of our episodes.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

But you technically could. Like, most things would fly over their head. This episode in particular might leave you answering some very complicated questions.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. This is grown ups episode.

>> Grace Todd:

This is grown up time after bedtime episode.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Yes, exactly.

>> Leigh:

This is you time episode.

>> Grace Todd:

That's right.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Pour yourself a glass of wine. Light a candle.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Be our Valentine. M. I might even. I might post this episode early. Post it on Valentine's Day instead of on Sunday. So. Yeah. Come join us for a little you time. A little we time.

>> Leigh:

The way that.

>> Grace Todd:

That spikes on that sound monitor. Oh, Leigh. Yeah, my friend?

>> Leigh:

Yes, I've, had sex. Just so everybody knows.

>> Grace Todd:

Yes, you have.

>> Leigh:

Thank you.

>> Grace Todd:

On the record, you've had sex with totally real people who exist.

>> Leigh:

Yes.

>> Grace Todd:

They go to another high school.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, you wouldn't. You haven't met her, you wouldn't know her.

>> Grace Todd:

have you ever heard of the author an Roquelaire?

>> Leigh:

No.

>> Grace Todd:

Have you ever heard of the author Anne Rice?

>> Leigh:

Yes. So you wouldn't know her. She goes to another high school. I've heard of her though. I definitely have, 100%.

>> Grace Todd:

So, Anne Rice, what do you know about her? What are you familiar with her for?

>> Leigh:

I don't know much about her as a person. I've read two of her books. Not the most famous one. Not Interview with a Vampire. I have not read that or seen the movie or anything, but everyone else I know likes it, so I kind of like it by extension. Just like, I trust you guys. what I have read is, I think it's called the 13th hour. Okay. Is that what it's called? which is like spooky vampirey with like, some sex, incidentally. And then I've also read a, like, porn by her.

>> Grace Todd:

Which one?

>> Leigh:

I don't know. It was something. It was like this private island for rich people to go have sex and like, kinky stuff. And like the lady, the lady who runs all of it, fell in love with a guy who was hired to work there as one of, like, the sex slave slaves.

>> Grace Todd:

Okay.

>> Leigh:

And then they had a romance. I think. I don't really remember the plot so much.

>> Grace Todd:

well then you are already on track in that. Anne Rice, as we all know, vampire, vampires, et cetera. She also wrote some novels about, like, the life of Christ. Very long, very successful career.

>> Leigh:

It's an interesting pivot. she was actually super vampires, I.

>> Grace Todd:

Guess she was super into religion, actually.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

And toward the end of her life was very much like, oh, I like, I believe in a God and I believe in Jesus. I just don't believe in church.

>> Leigh:

I can kind of see that. I mean, just the one non porn book that I've read, it was like the intensity of the spirituality of it was like. I guess I'm not surprised to learn that she's religious in some way.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah, well, and I think she was raised in, I think the Catholic Church too, which.

>> Leigh:

That tracks.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. Not that you know anything about her.

>> Leigh:

No.

>> Grace Todd:

But in addition to her sort of most famous works, she also wrote, as you said, a good bit of out and out erotica.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Pornography.

>> Leigh:

It wasn't softcore. No, no.

>> Grace Todd:

And she did this originally and I think mostly, if not exclusively, under a series of pen names.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, the one I read, she had a pen name. I don't remember what it was, but it.

>> Grace Todd:

She had a couple. And it was because what she says is that when she started out writing erotica, she didn't want her dad to find it. She was like, I don't want my dad to read my porn books.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, relatable.

>> Grace Todd:

And also she said that she wanted to. She thought the pen name would give her a certain amount of not just freedom but like would allow her to take more liberties. Right. She'd be able to express herself more fully and dive into these fantasies more deeply.

>> Leigh:

That makes sense.

>> Grace Todd:

And so under the pseudonym, an Roquelaire, she m. Wrote four books.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

That are a riff on the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. Oh, have you heard of these?

>> Leigh:

No, but my mind is immediately like thinking of how to turn Sleeping Beauty into a porn. And it's really easy.

>> Grace Todd:

It's so easy.

>> Leigh:

Like it's basically there already.

>> Grace Todd:

So in the 80s she wrote a trilogy called the Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, Beauty's Punishment and Beauty.

>> Leigh:

Give me that booty. Sleeping Beauty Returns, Sleeping Big. Booty.

>> Grace Todd:

Booty Beauty 2, spanking boogaloo.

>> Leigh:

Sleeping Beauty. More like Spanking Booty. Am I right?

>> Grace Todd:

that is actually a very succinct.

>> Leigh:

Summary of the whole trilogy.

>> Grace Todd:

All of them. And then the last one of the original trilogy is called Beauty's Release. M And then. And this is why she's a queen. After 50 shades of gray became a thing. Yeah, and we'll talk about that in a minute. But after 50 Shades of Gray became, extremely popular, became the sort of cultural juggernaut that it was.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

For better or for worse.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, for worse. Jugs or not?

>> Grace Todd:

Jugs or not.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And it's very funny because I read several interviews with her and nowhere does she cop to this being her motivation. But I believe absolutely in my heart of hearts that someone like gave Her a copy of 50 Shades of Gray. And she pulled the, like, that's not a knife. This is a knife. And was like, you want a bdsm, book, bitch?

>> Leigh:

She's like, this will not stand.

>> Grace Todd:

And she wrote a fourth book, Hell yeah. For the Beauty series.

>> Leigh:

Hell yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Called Beauty's Kingdom.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And I find it really interesting. And that's going to be the one we talk about most today. Because when she wrote the original trilogy, she was much younger. And by her own admission, she writes about this in the introduction to the first book. Which was clearly added on later. She was sort of wading into, like, uncharted territory. There really wasn't much in the way of overt pornography aimed at women, really.

>> Leigh:

I guess I don't really know much about, like, the history of the romance m. Genre.

>> Grace Todd:

There were romance. I mean, there were romance novels. Lots of them.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. I guess by romance I mean, like, literatica. Like sex. Not just like, wooing and kissing, like sex.

>> Grace Todd:

So a lot of them, One of the things that.

>> Leigh:

Sorry.

>> Grace Todd:

So a lot of the. One of the things she writes about in the introduction for the claiming of Sleeping Beauty is basically that there were romance novels. And each romance novel would have, like, a couple of hot and heavy pages. And the sort of open secret was that you would, like, bookmark the, like, three really good hot scenes you would get per book.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And kind of flipped to them sheepishly.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And she was like, what if a book for women that was just all those pages.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Just nothing but those pages.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Hell yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

I think she had an understanding of the market that the market didn't want to have of itself, in a way. And she especially had an understanding of what women wanted that publishing houses were not willing to admit women wanted.

>> Leigh:

You might say she found a big juicy gap and she decided to fill it.

>> Grace Todd:

You could say that.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, one could.

>> Grace Todd:

So in the introduction when she's writing about why. Because these. The funniest thing is the original trilogy, despite being, I don't know, moderately controversial, was a massive success.

>> Leigh:

Love that.

>> Grace Todd:

It became a cult classic. People were like, trading them around.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

They were hugely successful. And they basically, like, stayed selling. They never stopped selling.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And then 50 shades of gray happened and they jumped through the roof again. And she's funny. She says so there's a section in the introduction where she's saying, you know, why do we think those. That these books have been so popular? And she says two reasons. First, I think it is because they involve no harsh garish. Violence at all. They involve game playing, really. M no one is burned or cut or hurt. Certainly no one is killed. Indeed, the whole sadomasochistic predicament is presented as a glorified game played out in luxurious rooms and with very attractive people and involving very attractive slaves. And then she goes on to say, slaves. Oh, yeah, hang on, we'll get there.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

And then she says, unfortunately, a lot of hack work pornography is written by those who don't share the fantasy.

>> Leigh:

Exactly.

>> Grace Todd:

And they slip into hideous violence and ugliness, thinking the market wants all that when the market never really did. Second, this is shamelessly erotic. It pulls no punches at being what it is. It's excessive and it is erotica. Before these books, a lot of women read what were called women's romances, where they had to mark the few hot pages in the book. I said, well, look, try this. Maybe this is what you really want. And you don't have to mark the hot pages because every page is hot.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Every page is about sexual fulfillment. Every page is meant to give you pleasure. There are no boring parts yet. It's very romantic. And well, I think this worked.

>> Leigh:

She's saying, here, I'm giving you the clitoris of literature.

>> Grace Todd:

Clitorature, if you will.

>> Leigh:

Its only purpose is for pleasure.

>> Grace Todd:

And so, you know, she's got the original trilogy and they do have some, like. There's some objectively, like, pretty problematic shit in the first three.

>> Leigh:

Sure.

>> Grace Todd:

stuff that really is just kind of her either wading into things she didn't understand as well as she thought she did. And also I think there's a bunch of stuff, especially in the original trilogy, that are callbacks to much older erotic literature.

>> Leigh:

Oh, cool.

>> Grace Todd:

And some of it's very charming. Some of it wades into like, orientalism. And there's a whole. There's a whole thing in the third book where they are kidnapped to the kingdom of a sheik. Like it's a.

>> Leigh:

Uh-huh. Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

But like I said, I think the fourth one is the most interesting because when she wrote the first one, she was like in her 20s, I think.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

And she came back and wrote the fourth one much later in life. Much later as a, you know, a grown ass woman who had lived a, much longer life.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And had the chance to kind of reboot her own little franchise world.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And I think the changes that she made are really interesting.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

And so today we're just gonna kind of take again because I am not gonna read. I will not Be reading you pornography. And if that's what you're here for, I don't know, we'll start doing bonus episodes at some point.

>> Leigh:

Oh, that's a pretty good idea, honestly.

>> Grace Todd:

And I will read you some. Some historic stuff.

>> Leigh:

The Patreon is onlyfans.

>> Grace Todd:

Patreonly fans.

>> Leigh:

Patreonly fans.

>> Grace Todd:

I will read pornography. I don't know. But yeah, I'm not gonna be doing a bunch of direct reading. We're just gonna kind of talk through and summarize the series.

>> Leigh:

Yes. We're gonna reenact live on Patreon now.

>> Grace Todd:

And so, yeah, I'm gonna. You know, usually I feel like I'm kind of like, taking the guest's hand and we're like, walking through the book.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

I think this time we're like in a boat, and, we're in a sexy boat and we're going down like a. Like a. Like a Disney World ride the tunnel of love. And the book is happening on either side of us, but it's going by much more quickly.

>> Leigh:

Okay. You're just like, wait, what are those people doing?

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah, exactly. It's a nude world, after all.

>> Leigh:

So I'm ready. Yes, I'm ready.

>> Grace Todd:

Let's talk about the Kingdom of Sleeping Beauty.

>> Leigh:

Okay. That's the fourth one.

>> Grace Todd:

That's, well.

>> Leigh:

Oh, that's all of them.

>> Grace Todd:

Beauty's Kingdom is the fourth book, but we're gonna talk about the. The world.

>> Leigh:

The world.

>> Grace Todd:

We'll start by talking about the world in which all of this happens. Okay. So the first book. Opens with Sleeping Beauty being awakened by the prince. And he immediately her. Just right off the bat.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

Like, we just jump straight to sex.

>> Leigh:

Sure.

>> Grace Todd:

She is not fully conscious yet.

>> Leigh:

Is she into it?

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. So one, of the things about these books, the first three, the. The original trilogy, is it is very much a non consensual fantasy.

>> Leigh:

Anne Rice is very into that.

>> Grace Todd:

Yes. I think a lot of people are into that.

>> Leigh:

They are. I just noticed. Oh. Having only read two of her books, like, the non consensual fantasy featured heavily in both of them. And I was just like, that is this lady's thing. And I'm not now, I'm not knocking it. I'm not judging it. I was just like, I. I get it, girl.

>> Grace Todd:

Yep.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

It's interesting because the. The non consensual fantasy, I think, is like one of the most enduring tropes of both erotica, and romance for women especially. And explicitly aimed at, like, cisgendered straight women.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, I mean, I guess it's just, you know, fantasy and kink and everything is a safe place to work out fears and you know, like a control, like doing something that in the greater world maybe you don't have control of, but in a controlled, safe environment, you know, exploring that.

>> Grace Todd:

yeah, very much so. And I think when you take the series as a whole, it's kind of like a. It's like a sexual coming of age narrative.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

You are inducted into this thing that you don't understand. Don't understand enough to consent to certainly. But are nevertheless titillated by. Thrilled by Drawn to M. So that's very much kind of the tack we are taking here. Okay, so Sleeping Beauty is awakened with a wiener earth shattering orgasm.

>> Leigh:

Oh, nice.

>> Grace Todd:

Yes.

>> Leigh:

Congratulations.

>> Grace Todd:

so at least she gets that out of it.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Again, this is non consensual fantasy. And so I don't have to say it a million times, I'm just saying it one more time. That's the world we're in.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

I didn't write it.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And after they have had some lovely sex, the prince outlines to her that he is going to take her with him back to his kingdom. Because now that he has broken the curse and everyone is awake. He is taking his rightful tribute.

>> Leigh:

which is her right.

>> Grace Todd:

Because we find out that.

>> Leigh:

I'm just going to suspend commentary. I'm just like, it's a fantasy. Yeah. Get into it.

>> Grace Todd:

So in this kingdom, in this version, we are in a version of kind of like.

>> Leigh:

Ah.

>> Grace Todd:

it feels sort of enlightenment era. Maybe just shy, like Renaissance to Enlightenment Europe.

>> Leigh:

All right.

>> Grace Todd:

We are in a like fantasy version of that.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

I. I think it feels like we're meant to be in like maybe France. That part is not made clear. Maybe it's interesting because especially in the fourth book, real countries start popping up. Someone's like, I'm from India. And you're like wait, like huh? Like someone's from Russia. And you're like wait, I. Russia? Which of these countries? Like we've got real countries and fake. Doesn't matter. The point is we are in a system of feudal governance and Bellavalton is a very powerful kingdom that has tributes from all of the surrounding kingdoms.

>> Leigh:

Yes.

>> Grace Todd:

In the form of their daughters. No.

>> Leigh:

oh.

>> Grace Todd:

Of their princes and princesses.

>> Leigh:

Oh. Both of them.

>> Grace Todd:

Who are sent to Bella Valton for a finite period.

>> Leigh:

All right.

>> Grace Todd:

Of. Of sexual slavery.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. There it is. That's the Anne Rice I know.

>> Grace Todd:

Which, which makes Them better rulers in the long run because they learn self control and humility. And then after the finite period, they're sent home to their kingdoms where they then are better. kings and queens.

>> Leigh:

Sure.

>> Grace Todd:

Because they've learned all of these lessons.

>> Leigh:

Yes. Uh-huh. Yes. Got it.

>> Grace Todd:

And so Beauty is awakened by the prince. And then she is stripped naked. M. And then she is taken to bellavalton to begin her years of sexy nude slavery.

>> Leigh:

The best kind of slavery.

>> Grace Todd:

It is very spanking heavy.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

There is one thing to know. If you are into spanking and the non consensual fantasy element does not bother you, this is the series for you. For you.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

It is approximately 85% spanking.

>> Leigh:

All right.

>> Grace Todd:

Just so much spanking.

>> Leigh:

So. Yep. Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

So much spanking.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Slap it.

>> Grace Todd:

So Beauty is whisked away to the kingdom of Bella Valton. And the way that things work in Bella Valton, tell me, because again, and this is, I will say this is one of the things that I actually really like about this series and that I think Anne Rice made a very good decision, which is it is so clearly a fantasy in terms of the way that she sort of set dresses it. Right.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

I think one of the things that makes the series work is it's not one man doing this sort of, you know, rape play. With one woman behind closed doors. This is an entire gilded kingdom where this is all very normal.

>> Leigh:

Uh-huh.

>> Grace Todd:

This is just how it works.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

I think taking this kind of fantasy and putting it into a sort of fantasy kingdom. Like there are no children anywhere. Nobody poops. Right.

>> Leigh:

Like birth control. On point.

>> Grace Todd:

There is no mention of birth control. And people are having come inside of them constantly. Nobody gets pregnant like it.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

It could not more emphatically be like, this is not real.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. And they all smelled great.

>> Grace Todd:

Yes. Everyone smells amazing at all times.

>> Leigh:

I always think about that with really old literature. I'm just like, I bet you didn't smell good.

>> Grace Todd:

Well, the good news I have for you is that all of the lovely little pleasure playthings of Bella Valden are each assigned their own individual groom who cleans them and bathes them and massages nice oils into them.

>> Leigh:

And do they have sex with him?

>> Grace Todd:

Anyone? Can you basically at any time in bellavalton.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

So the other thing is like, this is all highly ritualized.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

You are being trained like a sexy little dog.

>> Leigh:

I saw you pause. You're like, is this what I want to say? Yeah, sure.

>> Grace Todd:

There is pony play.

>> Leigh:

Uh-huh.

>> Grace Todd:

There is puppy play.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

People are being dangled from walls sensually.

>> Leigh:

Uh-huh.

>> Grace Todd:

There's lots of whipping. There's lots of spanking. There's a bridal path where you put on, like, boots that have horseshoes on them and you clip, clop down the bridle path. And the whole thing is like, the effect of it, especially the first three books, is. It's overwhelming. Like, it's just. It is the sensation of reading it is to be almost overstimulated at all times. Like, you do not pass a single page without somebody groping your genitals.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. And that makes you a better king.

>> Grace Todd:

Yes.

>> Leigh:

I mean, look, sure, what do I know? I don't know. It could.

>> Grace Todd:

But the other important thing to remember about the original trilogy that carries through into the final book is this is not patriarchal.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

This is equal opportunity. Everyone is having sex with everyone.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Everyone is being admired by everyone. One of the central fantasies of this kingdom is that, like, everyone is beautiful and everyone is desirable. And there is absolutely no attention paid to men preferring women or women preferring men or women preferring women or men preferring men. It's just everyone is so beautiful and so horny.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

All the time.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And so it is like an even 50, 50 split of male m. Little playthings and female little playthings and the, you know, the strict masters and mistresses.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And very importantly, the queen. The queen of Bellavolta. The cold, cruel, distant, harsh m task, mistress of queen.

>> Leigh:

Yes.

>> Grace Todd:

That everyone is Mommy.

>> Leigh:

Desperate to please.

>> Grace Todd:

To please.

>> Leigh:

Mommy. Sorry, Mommy. Sorry, Mommy.

>> Grace Todd:

Huh?

>> Leigh:

Uh-huh. Yeah. Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

Very much that.

>> Leigh:

Very that. Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And then the other really interesting thing about the. The original trilogy, so, like, it just kind of goes from there. Right. Bebe is, of course, the pretty. She's the prettiest and most exciting slave.

>> Leigh:

Oh, of course.

>> Grace Todd:

Because there's a fairy tale. Everyone's like, did she really sleep for 100 years? And they're like.

>> Leigh:

I don't care.

>> Grace Todd:

but, like, it's very preoccupied with the psychology of it all. And so you spend so much of the book, there are multiple characters, and as beauty kind of moves through this world, you meet all of these different princes and princesses who have been sent to this kingdom to be hot little playthings. And they all have different reactions to submission and to dominance. And, like, some of them naturally really thrive on it. Some of them don't. Some of them come around to it, like, but they all have different Sort of psychological reactions to the sensation of like giving up all control.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And because she dives so deep, deeply into like their different characters and how they all react to it. One of the things I couldn't stop thinking about rereading, mostly the first book I didn't have a ton of time, is like the thing that separates the kingdom of bellavalton from being in an actual feudal state. Or for example, serving in the military is like clothes.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

In that what I mean is like, because it's so psychology focused, there's a lot of attention paid to like you belong to the kingdom.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Right. You are not your own person. You do not get to make your own decisions. And there's a sort of deliciousness in leaning back into that. And knowing that nothing bad will happen to you.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Truly a fantasy.

>> Grace Todd:

Well, that's so like one of the things that got me thinking about is like a lot of people are in situations where they do not own themselves anymore in pretty real and frightening ways.

>> Leigh:

Hm.

>> Grace Todd:

And I think when you spend your life knowing that substantial parts of your life are contingent on the decisions of others who may or may not give a single about you and your physical well being. I can understand why. Ah. Like, but what if, what if the people who had power over you and were taking away your capacity to make your own decisions just wanted to like, pamper you and give you baths and orgasms?

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Like, and kind of, I guess the baseline is like, what if they just. What if they didn't just want the bare minimum of like not not having your best interest at heart, but they also like wanted you to feel pleasure and like, you know, like.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah, like, what if the boundaries of your exploitation were extremely rigidly maintained and also like titillating and kind of sexy?

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Instead of an unfulfillable maw that you can just fall into forever.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

So like I,

>> Leigh:

Yeah, yeah. What if like the powers that be weren't just like eating you up and chewing you. Wait, hold on. What, what are the powers that be weren't. Aren't just like chewing you up and spitting you out for like whatever profit and use they can get out of you? Like, what if they actually see it as their duty to take care of you in a way.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. And then also give you some nice spankings?

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah.

>> Leigh:

Don't forget the spankings.

>> Grace Todd:

And especially by the fourth book, and I, I wrote this in the book when I was getting ready for the episode is the real fantasy is thoughtful, competent governance.

>> Leigh:

True.

>> Grace Todd:

So beauty Makes it, you know, we.

>> Leigh:

I'm like. I am kind of thinking through it. I'm like, what is the plot once she gets there? What's the what then?

>> Grace Todd:

So the. The plot, again, it's. It's sort of a, coming of age narrative. Like, she. She's learning, right? She's working her way through this world.

>> Leigh:

And she's learning how to govern.

>> Grace Todd:

Well, so this is kind of. Because she discovers that she quite likes being dominated. She likes being spanked. She likes pleasing her masters and mistresses. And she also discovers that the prince M. Sucks.

>> Leigh:

Oh.

>> Grace Todd:

well, we get rid of the prince pretty quickly. He is. And again, because this is erotica, the plot is. There's not a ton of plot, but the prince is, like, too jealous of her, too controlling. And so she contrives to get herself sent out of the castle and down to the village, which is a whole other kind of servitude, which is raunchier and harsher, but to her, sexier.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And then again, like I said, in the second book, they're in the village. In the third book, they are in the sultan's kingdom, right? And through all of this, she winds up meeting the actual prince of her heart. Laurent.

>> Leigh:

Laurent.

>> Grace Todd:

And he. At the very end of the third book, they're both released. Neither of them wants to go, which is apparently very common. A lot of princess princes and princesses, when their family come to collect them, are like, no, no, I. I don't. I don't want to. I don't want to do things. I. I want to be naked and cosseted forever like a house pet and.

>> Leigh:

Like, told what to do and have my decisions made for me.

>> Grace Todd:

I mean.

>> Leigh:

No, I get it. Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

and he. Laurent, comes and retrieves her, and they get married, and she goes off to be his queen, and they all live happily ever after until someone writes 50 shades of gray and they all have to be, hauled back out.

>> Leigh:

Like, all right.

>> Grace Todd:

And that is where we come into Beauty's kingdom. The fourth book. The fourth book, and I think the most interesting book.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

And I have a theory that it is, in no small part, something of a direct refutation of fifty Shades of Gray.

>> Leigh:

Okay?

>> Grace Todd:

And, now this is where I'm going to bring up the minor homework assignment that I gave you.

>> Leigh:

Yes, you did.

>> Grace Todd:

Would you like to tell the audience what that was?

>> Leigh:

You made me watch Fifty Shades of Grey. And I did it.

>> Grace Todd:

And you were so enthusiastic about it, too.

>> Leigh:

I can't lie to you, Grace. I was not. I can't lie to the good people of this podcast.

>> Grace Todd:

We were sitting there and I was like, man, you know, if you'd be willing to do it, there's like, a little bit of homework you could do that I think would like, really help the episode. And you were like, anything for you, babe. And I was like, can you watch 50 Shades of Grey? And you were like, no.

>> Leigh:

I almost didn't do it. I was like, don't be an asshole. Just watch it. It's fine. It's a movie.

>> Grace Todd:

All right. I have never read or watched Fifty Shades of Gray. What the. And I didn't want to for this episode because I didn't want it to influence my note taking and like, reactions to the book.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And because I only have so much time.

>> Leigh:

That's true. That's true.

>> Grace Todd:

So my question for you. Like, can you run us through in like a. Like, very densely, not even like the plot necessarily, but can you run us through sort of the bdsme ness of it all in Fifty Shades of Grey?

>> Leigh:

I think so. it's. Okay. So it's like this young girl goes to interview this big, powerful. He's a billionaire, first of all. Ew.

>> Grace Todd:

gross.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, he's very young and like, very sexy. And she goes to like, interview him. And she's still in college. He's a billionaire and she's in college. And she's in college. She might be a master's program. that was not clear. Anyway, and he, like, takes a liking to her and like, keeps in touch with her. And then he asks her basically to be. Agree to this contract where she comes to his penthouse on weekends and is just like his sex slave. Like his okay for, like every weekend. And it's like this whole. It's a real big deal about the contract and you gotta sign the contract. And she never does sign the contract. and he's like, not a romantic. Like, it's. This is just what he's into. But then he, like, romances her the whole time. I don't. The BDSM part of it is just like he, he, he's got like a sex room. They do sex in there. I don't know. Like, it's not. How do I. What's confusing is that it starts. It starts out seeming like there's gonna be clear boundaries because they're talking so much about the contract. And like, what. What are you willing to do? What are you not willing to do? Like, you can say no at any point. You can Leave at any point. It's like, oh, they're really like focusing on consent in this. This is great. They're really like laying out the boundaries and communicating well beforehand. And then just everything. I guess this is probably where the name comes from. Everything gets all the. The lines become blurry and gets all gray and like they're kind of falling in love, but he doesn't fall in love. And then it's like. And like. And. And like, they gets worse and like not. And I don't. The central conflict, like the climax of the movie was her asking him, like, don't hold back. Like, what do you really want? Do what you really want to me. I need to see who you really are. And so he like spanks her hard five, six times. And then afterwards she's like, with a whip. And then app. No, with a belt. And then afterwards she's like, I can't believe you did that. And he's like, can you still love me? And she's like, no. And I was like, wait, but. And then the movie ends and then it's over. And I just don't. I don't understand. No, I can't explain it because I don't understand. I didn't understand it. It was very confusing.

>> Grace Todd:

Okay.

>> Leigh:

Sorry. no, that's.

>> Grace Todd:

That was perfect. Because I. Like it or not, 50 Shades of Grey spawned a trend that we are still living through.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

In terms of like romance, fantasy romantasy, which is a portmanteau I do not care for. But it's what we're using now that is very much a marriage of one classic romance novel plot, which is the sort of brooding male lead. You never really know if he loves you or not. And the tension comes from kind of drawing out this like emotional conflict. And it's been increasingly kind of overlaid with this more erotica element of bondage and dominance and submission. And one of the sort of fundamental confusions that this fosters is the whole point of bdsm, and especially of like roleplay heavy dominance and submission, is that you are supposed to feel safe. At all times. You should not be spending your time getting dominated emotionally and physically by someone that you're like, does he like me though?

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

I know that non consensual fantasies are like not everyone's cup of tea. But one of the things about these books is that all of the playthings, which is the term I'm gonna keep using.

>> Leigh:

Cause I don't.

>> Grace Todd:

Slaves.

>> Leigh:

I think that's probably better than slaves. Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

all of the playthings in this kingdom are constantly being told how much they're loved. Like everyone is just smitten with everyone at all times.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Even when they're in trouble. Even when they're being scolded and spanked and put on the turntable in the village square and they're pulling carts and they have little horse tail anal plugs and little bits, all of it. Even when they are in trouble, even when people are disappointed in them, it's very much this. Like they are loved, they are cosseted.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And they are praised. Like constantly being like, it's, it's very affirming.

>> Leigh:

I was thinking that when you were describing it, where it's like the fantasy is that, yes, you go, you give up all control, but you are also like the center of attention. You are also adored, you're praised. And it's like it's a very specific fantasy. You know, like the whole, this whole.

>> Grace Todd:

Kingdom revolves around all of these naked, beautiful playthings.

>> Leigh:

The submissives really hold the true power because everybody's obsessed with them and their comfort and safety is the top priority.

>> Grace Todd:

Exactly.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

This brings us into Beauty's Kingdom.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

So what kicks off the plot of Beauty's Kingdom is that the old queen and the prince. The prince who originally yoinked Beauty out.

>> Leigh:

of.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. They both die.

>> Leigh:

Oh.

>> Grace Todd:

off screen just fine. They're lost at sea. Goodbye.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And we find out that the kingdom of Bellavalton has been.

>> Leigh:

Wait, the ice Queen?

>> Grace Todd:

Yes.

>> Leigh:

Mommy.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah, Mommy.

>> Leigh:

Oh, she dies.

>> Grace Todd:

Mommy. And Prince Charming die.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

Immediately.

>> Leigh:

Got it.

>> Grace Todd:

That is how the novel opens.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

They are, like I said, they are lost at sea. And we find out that the kingdom of Bellavalton has been in decline.

>> Leigh:

for Queen. You mean they weren't getting any governance done? They weren't tending to their economic.

>> Grace Todd:

Actually, no, that's not the problem. Oh.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

The problem is that the queen had lost interest in this elaborate sort of ritual and structure of pleasure slavery, which is what they do call it in the books. And sort of the whole system is starting to kind of wither on the vine.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And this is a problem. And this is a problem because. And Anne Rice outlines this very, very emphatically. The other thing about an elaborate system of dominance and submission is that everyone must have complete faith in the system at all times for it to work. Because you cannot relax into this kind of elaborate ritualistic pleasure play. If you aren't absolutely confident that you are doing the Right thing, basically.

>> Leigh:

Uh-huh.

>> Grace Todd:

You know.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Meanwhile, we find out that Beauty and Laurent, after governing for 20 some odd years. Have handed over their kingdom to their adult son. And they have gone to retire by the seaside in a beautiful castle. And they are bored as.

>> Leigh:

Ah. yeah. Yeah. Well.

>> Grace Todd:

And it was, it was the one time in this book where I was like, ah, yes. This was written by a woman later in life.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Like there's all of these passages at the beginning where it's just like they had everything they could ever want and they still had a wonderful sex life. And they were also just bouncing off the walls with sheer boredom.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

It's like, oh. Yep.

>> Leigh:

We see you, Anne.

>> Grace Todd:

So an envoy comes from Bella Valton.

>> Leigh:

Thank God.

>> Grace Todd:

To beg Beauty and Laurent to come be the new, king and queen of bellavalton. Because they know that if anyone can bring the kingdom not just back to its former glory, but beyond its former glory, it would be the two of them. Because they are so beautiful. They're so horny and they're so horny. And also because they both served because they were, they were naked playthings. So who better than they to understand this system, like, inside and out and how they can like, make it better?

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And they accept and they go back and. And Beauty and Laurent make all of these like big sweeping changes m to the kingdom, the first of which is consent.

>> Leigh:

Oh.

>> Grace Todd:

You have to volunteer to be a pleasure slave in Bella Valton now. And I think this is an interesting kind of threading of the, of the needle because it gives you sort of the, the non con thrills without the non con chills. Shall we?

>> Leigh:

Very important.

>> Grace Todd:

Which is anyone can sort of offer themselves up as tribute. And everything is explained to them very clearly. And then they do actually sign a contract.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And once you have signed that contract, you are in it to win it, baby.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

You have made a commitment and you have six months to prove that you.

>> Leigh:

Are capable, get the right stuff.

>> Grace Todd:

And if you make it past that six months, then you do it for two years and then you're done.

>> Leigh:

Oh, interesting. Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

So it's. I, I think it, I think it splits the difference pretty nicely.

>> Leigh:

Sure.

>> Grace Todd:

In terms of a fantasy.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

The other thing is anyone can now volunteer of any age.

>> Leigh:

No.

>> Grace Todd:

You don't have to be royalty. You don't have to be from the court.

>> Leigh:

So open minded.

>> Grace Todd:

I know.

>> Leigh:

Yes. Progressive.

>> Grace Todd:

So progressive. And there's lots of other like, very fiddly bits about the way that they Change this world to make it more woke. Well, to make it more nuanced. And one of the, like, there's a huge. There's a big subplot about one of the members of the nobility who for his entire life has wanted nothing more than to be a submissive, but was not allowed to because it wasn't considered appropriate.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

And he finally, like, there's. He finally gets to, like, go become a submissive, and he's thrilled but terrified and, like, gets into all of the, like, nitty, gritty of, like, people I knew before are going to see me naked, crawling around on the floor, putting golden balls into my anus.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

that's emotionally complicated for me.

>> Leigh:

Sure.

>> Grace Todd:

And they're like, yeah, I bet it is.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Yeah, buddy.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah, friend. And so the final book, it's almost kind of like a collection of short stories in a way. It's from a bunch of different people's perspectives, and it kind of cycles through. And so you get some people who are, like, very dominant, some people who are very submissive, some people who are Switch. Some people who are still trying to figure out how they feel about all of this. And because it's Anne Rice and because she's a very talented writer, there is. It's plotty. It's actually. It's plottier than the first three, for sure. And it delves much more into the complications of, like, what others expect of you. And, like, one of the, you know, like, beauty has come back to this kingdom, and she has always been really into being a, submissive, essentially. But she can't now because she's the queen.

>> Leigh:

She's the queen. This was gonna be. My question is, like, how does she. How does she and Laurent adjust? Like, they love being subs so much. How did they adjust to, like, having to give up the spotlight?

>> Grace Todd:

Well, and that's one of the things that is, I think, really well done is the. The first realization that Laurent has is that beauty's gonna f other people.

>> Leigh:

He wasn't ready for that.

>> Grace Todd:

Well, they've been married for 20 years. Right. they left the beautiful pleasure kingdom.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And they went out to a normal kingdom. So they've been living as, like, monogamous.

>> Leigh:

M. Well, I was like, have they?

>> Grace Todd:

Well, so that's one of. So what Anne Rice specifically addresses is basically, like, they have been living a. What counts as, like, a normal, quote, unquote, monogamous marriage.

>> Leigh:

Ah.

>> Grace Todd:

For the sort of time and place. So he has definitively had sex with other Women especially when he was like, away at war and things like that. And beauty is like, I have been faithful to you for our entire marriage. I have never concerned myself with the things that you have, you know, with your sport when you're not around me. And you've never taken like a proper mistress or anything. And you've always, you know, loved me and like, we've had a good life. But if we do this, I'm.

>> Leigh:

I'mma be well. Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And so there's a whole plot arc where, like, Laurent is like, oh, yeah, that is how this works. And that's it's only fair. And like, at first he's fine with other people having sex with her, but he's not okay with other people dominating her. And he has to, like, work through this. And she has to work through the sort of pressure of being a queen and needing to be this kind of figurehead that everyone admires and fears and relies on. But deep down, what she really wants is to be dominated. And it's a lovely little journey, honestly.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Very interesting.

>> Grace Todd:

It's still horny as well.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ah.

>> Grace Todd:

I trust that there is, an 11th hour plot twist where there's a potion that makes men grow breasts.

>> Leigh:

Ooh. It's interesante.

>> Grace Todd:

It's pretty fun.

>> Leigh:

yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

I think Anne Rice was attempting to nod at some kind of sideways trans representation.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

There's also a very brief. Too brief, I was disappointed subplot with a series of grooms who were unionizing. Honestly, we needed a fifth book.

>> Leigh:

Bella Vista or whatever it is in the industrial age.

>> Grace Todd:

It's a group of grooms who were women living as men who were thrown out of the kingdom by the old queen. And Beauty invites them back, but she refers to them by their chosen male names. And so, like, there's. There's that and then there's. It's. There's some interesting. Yeah, she's dipping her toes in the water of being like, gender.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Interesting.

>> Leigh:

Nice.

>> Grace Todd:

It's not perfect. No, but it's fun.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And speaking of the economics, there is a whole explanation at the beginning of the novel that amounts to, like, this kingdom is sustained by the tourism industry.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Unsurprisingly.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

Yep.

>> Leigh:

Makes sense.

>> Grace Todd:

uh-huh.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

All of these decadent delights allow them to execute what seems to be kind of a futile brain drain. Like, everybody flocks to this one kingdom because it's the horny all the time kingdom.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And as the, you know, as things get revitalized and it gets more and more elaborate, it does, at a certain point, start to feel like a kind of feudal horny naked theme park.

>> Leigh:

yeah, sounds like it.

>> Grace Todd:

And I'm not gonna lie, I'd go there.

>> Leigh:

Sure.

>> Grace Todd:

I would go to the. I would go to the horny naked theme park.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

I would. I'd spend a long weekend in the horny naked theme park.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. I'd try it out and.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah, I mean, that's the. In broad strokes, that is the Sleeping Beauty universe.

>> Leigh:

Cool.

>> Grace Todd:

What do you think? What are your. What are your questions?

>> Leigh:

I don't know. I just. I think it's a, Yeah, I got no problems with it. How did the fourth book do?

>> Grace Todd:

You know, I'm not sure. I think it did pretty well. These people still read these books? Yeah, they are very popular. The fourth book is definitely. Like I said, it's the plottiest.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

If you want just like hardcore pornography on every single page, the original trilogy is gonna be what you're after. If, you know, if the various elements are something that you are into. We spend an equal amount of time in the minds and bodies of men and women.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Lots of anal play across the genders.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. That happened in the other book I read too. Like, there was a equal focus on both.

>> Grace Todd:

There's, you know, there's some suspension, lots of spanking. I cannot overstate still with the spanking. The amount of spanking in all of these books. It is. If you are interested in more elaborate and, hardcore impact play, this might not be for you because it's really not going to get any spicier than a spanking. That is as painful as it gets.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Is just many spankings.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah, sorry. to channel my former life as a romance novel reviewer for a moment.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Which is how I discovered. So I was assigned to review Beauty's Kingdom when it came out.

>> Leigh:

Oh, interesting.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. I was given, an advance proof.

>> Leigh:

And, at the time. Had you read the first three?

>> Grace Todd:

No. And because I am a completionist, even though I was being paid $25 for each review that I wrote, I went and speed read the full trilogy so that I would know, you know, how this related to it. Yeah, before I did my review, but that was, gosh, over 10 years ago at the time.

>> Leigh:

Did you enjoy it back then?

>> Grace Todd:

I think so. I remember enjoying it. But the thing about reviewing romance novels for $25 a review, especially when you're doing one a week, yeah. Is at a certain point you start skipping the sex scenes. You'll read like the first one or two to make sure that they're competently written and that no one is referring to their penis as a sword. But once you've checked like one sex scene in a romance novel, you just skim through them at a certain point. Because that's not really what you're reviewing in a way. I mean, it is, but it isn't.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

what is? The, all. All happy families are alike. every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. It's like all competent sex scenes are kind of alike, but every incompetent sex scene is incompetent in its own way.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, I never really thought about that. Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

But yeah, no, I reviewed this. I reviewed this. Well, honestly, it was a. I remember it being a refreshing change in terms of the quality of the actual prose.

>> Leigh:

That's what I was thinking is that I was probably like, oh, a, book.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. Like Anne Rice knew how to write. She was good at writing.

>> Leigh:

Why do you think this one. She made this one plottier than the previous ones.

>> Grace Todd:

I think. I think she was a little older. I think it feels like she is gently trying to issue a bit of a corrective from the first three. It feels like there are things that she is trying to kind of retroactively change, like I said. And I think that's fair. People are allowed to evolve and grow. And I think that the fantasies that she was playing with and riffing on in her in the original trilogy were very much in step with not just the fantasies that were kind of popular in the time period. But were much more authentic to the much older smut and pornography that she was clearly drawing from.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

She was very. Anne Rice was extremely well read.

>> Leigh:

I believe it.

>> Grace Todd:

It's very obvious that she read old porno, like 17th, 18th century pornography.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And is very in like very much channeling that in the first three and in this one. I think she's kind of looking forward. She's trying to be a little more contemporary. And quite honestly, I really do think that she was trying to be like, oh, like, oh my babies, oh my darlings. Like you don't have to settle for 50 shades of gray.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Like, you can have better.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

You can have a fantasy that is not just complete and comprehensive, but like internally logical.

>> Leigh:

That is the biggest thing that would be so nice.

>> Grace Todd:

You can have a fantasy that not only has internal logic, but that is a safe place for you.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And you can have a non consensual fantasy that is still very safe and has very clear boundaries and is a world in which you really can let yourself fall into the fantasy without accidentally ingesting something that is quietly kind of harmful.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

If that makes sense.

>> Leigh:

It does make sense.

>> Grace Todd:

And doesn't sound too preachy.

>> Leigh:

No. And I like that. And I think, I mean, probably too is just. Even if there wasn't the prompt of, you know, the movie coming out and her being like, all right, we gotta show these kids how it's done. I, mean, you know, you write something and then like 30 years later, like inevitably you've thought about it and you've been like, you know, I would change this or I would expand on this, or like, this is where that would logically go afterwards. And I'm sure probably a lot of the ideas she already had.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. Like, I also think that this was much earlier in her career and I don't. I mean, there's really no way she could have known how famous she was going to get.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Real famous.

>> Grace Todd:

It's thoroughly possible that her younger, more naive self thought that no one would ever know.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

That she wrote those original novels.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, that's very true.

>> Grace Todd:

She was quite young. She probably was like, yeah, you know, I'll never be so famous that people will relentlessly ferret out everything I've written.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Everyone will know my six pen names.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah.

>> Leigh:

Whoopsie Daisy.

>> Grace Todd:

Whoopsie doodle.

>> Leigh:

I think that though, in the one that I read, it was like Anne Rice writing as blah, blah, blah. And I was like, well, what's the point of a pen name?

>> Grace Todd:

That's what the front of all these books say.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. And writing as. What does that say?

>> Grace Todd:

Anne Roqueleur. That was her.

>> Leigh:

And then underneath it in giant letters, the biggest on the entire page is Anne Rice. She's like, cool. Thanks.

>> Grace Todd:

These editions I have were reissued before she released the fourth one, originally published in 1983. And these editions, I think came out in like 2016. They actually someone licensed the Beauty's Kingdom novels, the Sleeping Beauty novels, for a television adaptation, but it apparently like died in transit and never happened.

>> Leigh:

Well, I mean, what channel would that go on?

>> Grace Todd:

I don't.

>> Leigh:

I think it was because you can't water. How much you gonna water it down?

>> Grace Todd:

I. It was bought, I think, by like the Lifetime network, but I think they have a bunch of different sweeties. I don't know.

>> Leigh:

You can't do it.

>> Grace Todd:

Respectfully, it was supposed to be.

>> Leigh:

I'm Grateful for the niche that they fill.

>> Grace Todd:

You know, I think HBO needs to do it.

>> Leigh:

It's obviously hbo.

>> Grace Todd:

It's gotta be hbo.

>> Leigh:

And even that's gonna be super watered down.

>> Grace Todd:

Yes.

>> Leigh:

Like Lifetime.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah.

>> Leigh:

Babes.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. Well, it didn't happen, unsurprisingly.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Well. Well, I'm gonna toss you this book. I want you to flip through it at random and then fan, through it. Just jab your finger in.

>> Leigh:

I'm nervous. Here we get the asmr. Did that. Did the sound translate? Okay. Oh, okay.

>> Grace Todd:

Read us a mess.

>> Leigh:

How much? How much?

>> Grace Todd:

As much as you want.

>> Leigh:

Okay. I found myself groaning again. I couldn't help it, but to the walloping with the strap. This was like spice compared to supper. To say that my loved it would be an understatement. I saw the whole room in a bright flash. I saw slaves being very roughly bathed and others soothed, it seemed, and some being smacked over and over by their grooms in one stage or another of their toilet. I saw some over the knee as I was. He didn't spank me all that long, but my s T felt like it was made of stone. He brought me up straight. You're a good boy, he said approvingly. A very good boy. I have this feeling. Ah. but what do I know? If the queen or the king don't take you, you'll still be at the court at table or stable.

>> Grace Todd:

All right, I'm gonna do one, and then we're gonna close out with our little Valentine's Day, treat. All right, let's see. It was the night on which the favorites of the king and queen were run on the bridal path, along with the favorites of the more powerful members of the court. I stood at the door of the bridle path hall, where the glittering chariots were lined up, the various lords and ladies already mounted in them, and ponies stamping their booted feet ready to pull them. And the poor slaves, chosen to be runners waited in line as well. Rosalind and Elena were instructing the grooms as they prepared the slaves, adjusting coiffed hair or braided hair, brushing the bushy locks of the boy slaves and warning each and every one to run fast and hard. There is no escaping the paddle, said Rosalind to the little thing closest to her. And if you pass the royal banquet table without putting on the very best show, you'll find yourselves hung upside down in the gardens for the night.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Yep.

>> Leigh:

Yay. Yay.

>> Grace Todd:

Any final thoughts on, I don't know, pornography? BDSM Smut.

>> Leigh:

I support it. Yeah. Love, it. It's great. I hope, you know, everybody enjoys what they enjoy. You know, consent is the sexiest thing.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah.

>> Leigh:

Adults can be adults.

>> Grace Todd:

And I think it's important to like explore different fantasies.

>> Leigh:

Oh yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Like one of the things that's really nice about especially the last book, but really well written pornography in general is it gives you a chance to try ideas on for size.

>> Leigh:

Uh-huh.

>> Grace Todd:

In a very safe way. And in a way that I think is less overwhelming than visual pornography.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

To kind of explore different fetishes and different partner. You know, just different, different aspects of sexuality in a way that's much easier to kind of like close and put down and be like, oh, you know, that didn't, that didn't work for me. Or like, oh, like this, this does work for me. And how does that make me feel? Like what?

>> Leigh:

I think, like written, written erotica and written porn are maybe appeal so much to women because they focus. Because, because the nature of the media itself means you have to focus on the actual sensation.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah.

>> Leigh:

You know, and it's not just like shock factor, wow factor, or the money shot. Like it's, you know, what does this actually feel like? What's the build up? What's the sensations? Like what, you know, what's going on in your mind during it. And I mean, it appeals to me. So, you know.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. Well, and I, I think it's really important and I think it's maybe more important now than ever. well, with so much censorship on the horizon.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, a lot of it.

>> Grace Todd:

And well, until recently I really hoped that they were, on the decline. But the sort of like terfs and like the anti smut. quote unquote feminist.

>> Leigh:

The terfs and Swerfs go hand in hand.

>> Grace Todd:

The Terfs and the Swerfs are getting, ever more powerful. And we need to pelt them with copies of Anne Rice's pornography.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

I think it's really important to have controversial and exploratory and well written pornography out there.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And I stand behind it. And Anne Rice, in some of the interviews that she gave around when Beauty's Kingdom came out very much was like, I think that feminism means that women have a right to explore fantasies and even uncomfortable fantasies. And I do not believe in anyone who calls themselves, themselves a feminist and advocates for censorship.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And I say that, you know, in her honor, go read some really well written pornography.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. And can I also add, listen to sex Workers. Because no one has a better idea of consent and what keeps adults safe.

>> Grace Todd:

Yep.

>> Leigh:

And, you know, the balance of power and the exchange of energy and the exchange of resources and basic economics than sex workers. And things that affect sex workers, you know, a couple years later, affect all of society, including censorship and technological lockdown and everything. So.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah, the sex workers have been warning us for years now.

>> Leigh:

Oh, yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

That things were coming and then they happened.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

around to find out.

>> Leigh:

Mm. Truly, we are all finding out, are we not?

>> Grace Todd:

But,

>> Leigh:

Thanks, Anne Rice.

>> Grace Todd:

Thanks, Anne Rice.

>> Leigh:

Thanks, Anne.

>> Grace Todd:

Happy Val. I hope. How. How are you doing out there, everyone? Are you enjoying your Valentine's Day spectacular? Do you have a glass of wine?

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Because before we wrap this up, we're going to play a little game.

>> Leigh:

Spanking?

>> Grace Todd:

No, we're going to play a very abbreviated version of Plot Me, Baby. One more. where Leigh and I are each going to pull up our search history. We're going to take the last two things that we Googled, and then we are going to plot out an erotica.

>> Leigh:

A pornography.

>> Grace Todd:

A pornography.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Based on our search terms.

>> Leigh:

Oh, boy.

>> Grace Todd:

So, Leigh.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Would you like to start us off?

>> Leigh:

Okay. I got three good ones, and two. of them, I'm gonna explain.

>> Grace Todd:

Okay.

>> Leigh:

If. Is that allowed?

>> Grace Todd:

Sure.

>> Leigh:

Okay. The most recent thing I googled was, sucking on a chili dog outside the Tasty Freeze, which. Which is a John Cougar Mountain camp lyric. Uh-huh. That I've sung my whole life. And last night, I was just like, what do you mean, sucking on a chili dog?

>> Grace Todd:

Is he sucking the chili off the dog?

>> Leigh:

And I will say, I'm not the only person who's had this question. the. Another thing is Mardi Gras 2025. Okay, good. You know, that could be a good setting. All right, and then another one is. And this is one I really would like to explain is, Recticare. Lidocaine. Anal numbing cream. 5% lidocaine. Allow me to. Allow me to explain, please.

>> Grace Todd:

No, I'm going to. No, you can try and explain, but I'm just gonna cut it.

>> Leigh:

Are you gonna cut it? It's for.

>> Grace Todd:

Likely. Sorry.

>> Leigh:

And I'm scared it's gonna hurt really bad, so I'm using numbing cream for the first time.

>> Grace Todd:

All right.

>> Leigh:

Okay. Well, what about you? What'd you Google, Grace?

>> Grace Todd:

Let's see. Okay. Nvidia server Rack.

>> Leigh:

What is that?

>> Grace Todd:

Nvidia are the chips that they use to do, generative AI.

>> Leigh:

Oh, no.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah.

>> Leigh:

Ooh. Ah.

>> Grace Todd:

And call A cab. Sorry? Call a. Well, call a cab.

>> Leigh:

Oh, the song.

>> Grace Todd:

Call Acab.

>> Leigh:

Call Acab.

>> Grace Todd:

The song.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Good.

>> Grace Todd:

song and egg collecting basket.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. All right.

>> Grace Todd:

Those are my great things.

>> Leigh:

Do we need to write this down? Are you gonna remember these?

>> Grace Todd:

well, I can always just check again.

>> Leigh:

Okay.

>> Grace Todd:

All right, Leigh, What? Would you like to start us off?

>> Leigh:

The scene is Mardi Gras beautiful. 2025.

>> Grace Todd:

All right.

>> Leigh:

Anne Rice's Mardi Gras. She loved New Orleans.

>> Grace Todd:

She did.

>> Leigh:

That's true. She was very New Orleans. Y.

>> Grace Todd:

Yes.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. So that's where we are.

>> Grace Todd:

Are there vampires there?

>> Leigh:

Yeah. All right. Vampires love John Cougar Mellencamp.

>> Grace Todd:

Jack.

>> Leigh:

and Diane is the anthem of Mardi Gras. 2025.

>> Grace Todd:

Okay.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Great start.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Suck on a chili dog.

>> Grace Todd:

Where does the eroticism come in?

>> Leigh:

what was the second was the other thing the analkamp is getting by vampires? Mardi Gras. And they're too hard. And he has to go get some recticare in a sexy way.

>> Grace Todd:

Does. Do the vampires apply it? Do they? Do the vampires.

>> Leigh:

It's his aftercare.

>> Grace Todd:

Yeah. I was gonna say do the vampires understand Good. Aftercare.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, it's like, actually very sweet.

>> Grace Todd:

They like, put him on a massage table and they give him a chili dog while they.

>> Leigh:

And he sucks on it while they gently. Yeah. Numb.

>> Grace Todd:

his.

>> Leigh:

Numb. His anus. His, Sore hole.

>> Grace Todd:

That's nice.

>> Leigh:

It is nice, actually. It's very beautiful.

>> Grace Todd:

And does he have a good time?

>> Leigh:

He has a great time.

>> Grace Todd:

Like what? Kind of a fantasy.

>> Leigh:

And then they all go to the parade later.

>> Grace Todd:

Aw.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. How wholesome. Yeah. And they show their titties.

>> Grace Todd:

Oh, I like that.

>> Leigh:

I do too.

>> Grace Todd:

Okay.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Brought it home.

>> Grace Todd:

You did it.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

All right, let's see what were mine again. Egg collecting basket.

>> Leigh:

You got some real rich material to work with here.

>> Grace Todd:

Call acab. And Nvidia. Was it Nvidia server. Nvidia server Rack.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

All right.

>> Leigh:

you got this.

>> Grace Todd:

The scene opens the. It's the. It's the near future. We're going a little sci fi.

>> Leigh:

Ooh.

>> Grace Todd:

and our. Our bold heroine is collecting eggs.

>> Leigh:

Yes. For which she needs an egg collecting basket.

>> Grace Todd:

Yes.

>> Leigh:

Yes.

>> Grace Todd:

She has her egg collecting basket. And she is, going out to her chicken coop, which is very important because we're in a minorly post apocalyptic near future.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Not a lot of food.

>> Grace Todd:

And in the chicken coop, she finds an outlaw.

>> Leigh:

Oh.

>> Grace Todd:

Hiding.

>> Leigh:

Oh, no.

>> Grace Todd:

And she's like, you can't be here. I'll get in trouble.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Because clearly you're up to no good. And he's like, you have to hide me. And she's like, I shouldn't hide you, but I want to, but I shouldn't, but I can't. And he, is like, well, if you won't hide me, then I'm taking you hostage. And then they go into the house, but he's not really taking her hostage. Cause he's not good at it. He's not very mean. Yeah, he wants to be meaner than he is.

>> Leigh:

He is a bottom.

>> Grace Todd:

and he tries to tell her that he's not actually, a, bandit. but they, The light is very pretty on his face. And she's making him eggs, and he's standing there, and their hands brush, and they start kissing. And then they start undressing each other. And he has an ACAB tattoo on his chest.

>> Leigh:

Uh-huh.

>> Grace Todd:

And the acab tattoo is what marks him out as being a bandit.

>> Leigh:

Yes.

>> Grace Todd:

And she's like, no, you are a bandit. And he's like, I'm sorry. I am a bandit. And also a bottom. And. And they do some hand stuff.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

In the kitchen.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. very tasty.

>> Grace Todd:

But they don't cross contaminate the eggs.

>> Leigh:

No.

>> Grace Todd:

Eggs are expensive.

>> Leigh:

Yes.

>> Grace Todd:

so then they. They wash up, and they eat the eggs, but only after Evan has washed the eggs.

>> Leigh:

The eggs are being hard boiled. And she puts them in the fridge while they do hand stuff.

>> Grace Todd:

Yes.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And then. And then she decides that he's just so beautiful. And also, he has a mission he needs to complete. And he's such a tender baby girl that she knows that he'll never complete his mission without her help. And so she throws everything away to follow him, to help him finish his mission. And his mission is blowing up a generative AI Server farm.

>> Leigh:

Yay.

>> Grace Todd:

And they break in together, and they set it on fire, and they explode everything. And then they have sex.

>> Leigh:

She pegs him on the ashes.

>> Grace Todd:

She pegs him in the woods as they watch the server farm burn down in the distance.

>> Leigh:

Yeah, I think that's good. Yeah. yeah. Good. You're too good at this.

>> Grace Todd:

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Thanks for being my Valentine.

>> Leigh:

Thanks for being my Valentine. Are you talking to me, or the.

>> Grace Todd:

People are talking to all of you? Okay, I'm talking to you and the audience and Anne Rice.

>> Leigh:

I'm included.

>> Grace Todd:

And my server farm burning erotica characters. Yeah, we're all each other's Valentines.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

Especially when we're burning down the servers Violently resisting generative AI.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Yeah, AI. Happy Valentine's Day.

>> Grace Todd:

Happy Valentine's Day. Yay. we'll be back next week with our usual more porn content, less porn. M. No, it's not gonna be very porny at all.

>> Leigh:

I'm afraid I cannot recommend that.

>> Grace Todd:

And just a reminder that if you want to be our Valentine, we have a brand new merch store. Yeah. You can find it@didn't readitpod.com.

>> Leigh:

Yeah.

>> Grace Todd:

And the first few orders will get a little handwritten note and some stickers and some bookmarks from me.

>> Leigh:

I'm gonna go buy some right now.

>> Grace Todd:

Yay. Yeah, that's about it for us here at Didn't Read It.

>> Leigh:

We got some spanking to go get to.

>> Grace Todd:

I know. Honestly, I have been reading hardcore pornography for three days straight and I need to do something about it.

>> Leigh:

So goodbye.

>> Grace Todd:

Love you all. and as always, if you can this week, this month, this pay period, consider supporting a living author, pornographer, sex worker, or person in need of spanking.

>> Leigh:

Yes.

>> Grace Todd:

Because they could really use the love.

>> Leigh:

Yeah. Bye. Bye.

>> Grace Todd:

Didn't Read it was created, written, researched, and recorded by me, Grace Todd. Maddie Wood is our co producer and social media maven. Editing by Tally, a true podcasting professional, and Grace Todd. Our theme song is Books 2.0. Written, performed, and recorded by William Albritton. Special thanks to blackiris Social Club in Richmond, Virginia. Reach out to us with questions, concerns, or academic scrutiny@didn't readitpodmail.com.