Guest Author Post: Miranda Neville and Her Pintle

I “overheard” a conversation on Twitter expressing surprise and amusement at the use of the work “pintle” in The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton. Don’t get me wrong: I am delighted to surprise and/or amuse anyone, but I’ve come across so many words for the penis in the course of my reading that a new one doesn’t seem unusual to me.

OED lists approximately 82 synonyms for the male organ and another 30 or so for the testicles. The oldest citation, c. 1000 AD, is “weapon.” Names like John Thomas, Peter, and Dick are late nineteenth or twentieth century; apparently earlier men didn’t feel the need to personify their manhood, at least not in writing. Yes, manhood is there (1640) and root (1846) but not the infamous manroot which may have been invented by a romance writer. My favorite is “yard,” dating back to 1379 and often used in the 18th century. Definitely a guy who came up with that one. Priapus, named for a Greek god with big equipment, was popular. Priapism is a seriously medical condition when an erection lasts for hours despite lack of stimulation. (Also caused by an overdose of Viagra or vampire blood.) Such is the glamorous life of a historical romance novelist. I get to research this stuff.

Three years ago I decided to read Georgian century porn as a way of gaining insight into the fantasy life of my Regency heroes. These books were written by men for men, but often purported to be written from the woman’s point of view, usually an old whore instructing a young initiate. They are almost unrelentingly phallocentric.

The most famous and popular English work, Fanny Hill: The Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure is pretty graphic in its physical descriptions, but nowhere is there a mention of the clitoris. Even the woman-on-woman action is all about penis substitutes. John Cleland, the author, was apparently unaware of the little nubbin’s existence. (When I mentioned this to some of my girlfriends they all remarked they had known men like this.) Other works exhibit the same male prejudice/ignorance. Yet the existence of the clitoris was known. Gonosologium Novum, a rather scurrilous 1709 medical work on venereal diseases, describes it and calls it “the seat of the greatest pleasure.”

Among the works I discovered in the British Library, was a small volume entitled The Genuine and Remarkable Amours of the Celebrated Peter Aretin. Aretino was an Italian poet who, thanks to some dirty sonnets and one of the original whore dialogues, became a kind of godfather of porn. The Genuine Amours has little to do with Aretino. It’s a novel in which an English youth describes his active and varied sex life. “Pintle” and “prick” are his preferred words. He also, I’m happy to report, discovers what he calls “the coral headed bud of titillation.”

I used The Genuine Amours in The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton, as a handy way to give my virginal heroine a bit of sex ed. before they get down to business.

You may get the impression from this post that I write a erotica. I don’t. The Amorous Education is a mainstream historical romance. I do, however enjoy doing research and I also like to laugh. Thank you, Katie, for giving me the opportunity to demonstrate both these interests, which I hope are reflected in my writing.

Thanks Miranda! Here's just a small excerpt of where you can enjoy the delights of the pintle (or in Celia's case, admiring Tarquin's:

"And felt that part of him hard against her lower belly: the pillock, according to Joe, or pintle, the word preferred by Francis Featherbrain. Like one of Master Feathrebrain's inamoratas, she reached for it. It swelled and stiffened through his clothing as her own private parts throbbed back."

*KB fans self*

Interested in seeing how the rest of the scene plays out? Then, you must pick up The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton. This is one book that is recommended reading. It's fun, witty, sexy, where you learn new terms for specific body parts!

Available now from Avon books...

Synopsis:  (The Burgundy Club, Book Three) Being kidnapped teaches Miss Celia Seaton a few things about life.

LESSON ONE
Never disrobe in front of a gentleman ... unless his request comes at gunpoint.

LESSON TWO
If, when lost on the moors, you encounter Tarquin Compton, the leader of London society who ruined your marriage prospects, deny any previous acquaintance.

LESSON THREE
If offered an opportunity to get back at Mr. Compton, the bigger the lie, the better. A faux engagement should do nicely.

LESSON FOUR
Not all knowledge is found between the covers of a book. But an improper book may further your education in ways you never guessed.