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John Cleland

About the Author

Born in Surrey in 1710, John Cleland rushed the completion of Fanny Hill to escape debt. The subsequent obscenity lawsuits landed Cleland in serious legal trouble, but the novel’s notoriety generated demand from curious readers, and Cleland eventually authored a heavily revised, expurgated edition of the book in an effort to produce additional income while avoiding further legal actions. He died in Westminster in 1789.