Pauline Réage Biography

The author, writing under the pseudonym Pauline Réage, achieved renown for an extraordinary pornographic novel characterized by its explicit yet spare and elegant prose. This work, published fifty years ago, explored themes of obsession and violent submission, with the purity of its writing creating a stark contrast to its dark subject matter. The author, whose true identity was only revealed many years later, was a distinguished literary figure in France. She was known as a translator, editor, and judge of literary prizes, underscoring her deep engagement with the intellectual and artistic world.