Kinky History (Esmé Louise James, Pantera)

Kinky History is based on the wildly popular TikTok account we all needed. Author Esmé Louise James (@esme.louisee) is a TikTok phenomenon with over 2.3 million followers, and it’s pretty clear why—she knows how to make sex and kink easy to talk about. And hilarious. And normal. James invites the reader to a multi-course dinner party with famous kinky people throughout history, including James Joyce, Albert Einstein and the Marquis de Sade, to talk about kink. At times the metaphor can seem a little much—but it works—and, along with plenty of euphuisms, make the book friendly and accessible. Kinky History combines James’s penchant for the historical with her mum’s (statistician Dr Susan James) love for data. In 2022, the pair surveyed over 14,000 Australians about their sex lives. Having these ‘SexTistics’ about what Australians like in the bedroom helps show us that our kinks aren’t weird or even unique, and adds to the overall sense of fun and comfort the author creates. Kinky History is a fun book and an important one as it explores five ‘kinks’ that may challenge how we think about sex. If its goal is to normalise kink and reduce shame, it achieves that. It is a good match for readers who enjoyed This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Becca Whitehead is a features and content writer based in Naarm-Melbourne. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Reviews