The End of Obscenity

The Trials of Lady Chatterley, Tropic of Cancer & Fanny Hill by the Lawyer Who Defended Them

Charles Rembar

• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781504015677
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Public Law
• Index: Law

George Polk Award Winner: This account of American book banning and the battles against it is "a tour de force to fascinate lawyers and laymen alike" ( The New York Times Book Review ). Up until the 1960s, depending on your state of residence, your copy of Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer might be seized by the US Postal Service before reaching your mailbox. Selling copies of Cleland's Fanny Hill in your bookstore was considered illegal. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence was, according to the American legal system, pornography with no redeeming social value.

Today, these novels are celebrated for their literary and historic worth. The End of Obscenity is Charles Rembar's account of successfully arguing the merits of such great works of literature in front of the Supreme Court. As the lead attorney on the case, he—with the support of a few brave publishers—changed the way Americans read and honor books, especially the controversial ones. Filled with insight from lawyers, justices, and the authors themselves, The End of Obscenity is a lively tour de force. Racy testimony and hilarious asides make Rembar's memoir not only a page-turner but also an enlightening look at the American legal system. "[Rembar's] book deals not with the why of obscenity laws but with the how... many of his anecdotal digressions into history and law are sharp and amusing." — The New Republic

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Praise for the Writing of Charles Rembar
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Author’s Note
• Preface
• As Long As It Doesn’t Offend Our Own Ideas
• The Law to the Time of Chatterley
• Aspects of the Law
• The Roth Case
• Lady Chatterley: the Trial
• Lady Chatterley: the Federal Courts
• Lady Chatterley: Postscript
• Don’t Laugh
• Tropical Storm
• Tropical Clearing
• Tropic of Brooklyn
• Aspects of the Lawyer
• It Seems There Were These Five District Attorneys …
• It Seems There Was This Country Girl …
• The Enlightenment in New York
• Legislative Wisdom
• Fanny Hill in Scollay Square
• Two Hundred and Eighteen Simply Said Man
• Fanny Hill in Hackensack
• The Majority Below
• The Race to Washington
• The Court’s Friends and Mine
• The Companion Cases
• The Brief for the Supreme Court
• The Argument in the Supreme Court
• The Penumbra
• The Decisions of March 21, 1966
• Conclusion
• Appendix
• Table of Judges
• Index
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Copyright Page