Banned Books Week: Harry Potter to Alice in Wonderland - 25 of the most dangerous books ever written

The 120 Days of Sodom

Marquis de Sade, 1785

Written in the run-up to the French Revolution by the man who gave his name to Sadism, Sodom is perhaps the most revolutionary – and demented – book ever written. Every type of sexual extremism is contained within its covers. The story – such as it is – tells of a group of rich "libertines" who engage in a series of orgies and murders. Initially thought lost during the storming of the Bastille – where de Sade had been incarcerated for sexual offences including the drugging of prostitutes – it was not published until 1904. It was later banned by countries, including Australia, for obscenity.

Some see it as the ramblings of a delinquent madman, but most scholars now believe that its extremism is a deliberate attempt to champion the idea of personal liberty and freedom of speech.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll, 1865

The psychedelic story of Alice disappearing down the rabbit hole was not banned because of drug references – most notably the hookah smoking caterpillar sitting on a giant mushroom – or because of the author’s creepy fixation with pre-pubescent girls, but because it angered the Chinese government of the 1930s with its talking animals. The government censor thought portraying animals that could talk and think was an insult to the dignity of humans.

It remains a children’s classic, although many find it an unwholesome read today given what is known of Carroll’s personality.

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley, 1818

The book which single-handedly invented science fiction and horror was one of many novels banned by the paranoid government of apartheid South Africa.

Outlawed in 1955, the monster represented an amalgam of different people – and therefore the spectre of inter-racial relationships -–to the minds of white supremacists. The fact that the "monster" revolted and rose up against its master and creator also unsettled the racist government.

Animal Farm

George Orwell, 1945

The great satire on communism. Orwell ruthlessly mocks figures like Stalin in this brutal political commentary masquerading as a children’s fable in which pigs revolt against their human owners on an English farm and set up their own animal soviet. It was immediately banned in the USSR and other post-war communist nations. The United Arab Emirates also banned it as talking pigs were seen as contrary to Islamic values. It remains banned in North Korea.

Orwell’s 1984 – telling the story of Winston Smith’s struggle against Big Brother, the Thought Police and the Party – was also banned by the Soviet Union.

The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer, 1387

The first great work of English literature, this epic cycle of stories tells of a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury who entertain each other with tall tales to pass the time. There’s more than a bit of filthy comedy in the stories, with the Miller’s Tale the equivalent of a slightly pornographic medieval Carry On film.

It was banned from being sent by the US postal service in 1873 due to being "obscene", "filthy" and "inappropriate".

Last Exit To Brooklyn

Hubert Selby Jnr, 1963

Seen by many as one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, Last Exit tells the story of life in the slums of Brooklyn in the 1950s featuring characters such as Tralala, a doomed prostitute. At the time, its portrayal of transsexuals, domestic violence, gang rape, homosexuality, and drug use was truly shocking.

It was banned in Italy, and subjected to an obscenity trial in the UK which saw literary scholars line up to defend Selby Jnr as a modern Dickens. The trial, which led to the book being eventually cleared on appeal, made it an overnight sensation.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover

DH Lawrence, 1928

Now often seen as more than a little overrated, the story of the love affair between Constance Chatterley and her gamekeeper Mellors was the most shocking novel of its time thanks to its explicit portrayal of sex and adultery, in particular the use of the words "f***" and "c***.

Initially published in a heavily censored form, the unabridged version of the book was subjected to an obscenity trial in London in 1960. Prosecutors lost the case, and were mercilessly lampooned for infamously saying that this was not the kind of book "you would wish your wife or servants to read". The trial was seen as a key moment in the sexual revolution.

Fifty Shades of Grey

EL James, 2011

The entire "mummy porn" trilogy was banned by the Malaysian government for its apparently "sadistic" content and posing a "threat to morality". The story of the S&M love affair between spoiled, dull, super-rich perv Christian Grey, and the achingly boring submissive Anastasia Steele, was monstered by almost every critic on earth.

Some have suggested it should only be banned for crimes against literature.

The House of Spirits

Isabel Allende, 1982

This acclaimed novel which tells the history of Chile through the story of one family made Allende a literary superstar. She was related to Salvador Allende, the left-wing president of Chile, who died during the 1973 coup orchestrated by the fascist General Augusto Pinochet and backed by the CIA.

The book was banned by Pinochet – but his attempts to damage Allende failed miserably, and she is today the most widely read Spanish-language author in the world.

The Well of Loneliness

Radcliffe Hall, 1928

A heartbreaking novel which recounts the love affair between two lesbian women during the First World War. Hall, herself a lesbian, described lesbianism as "inversion" – a term now seen as crude, and even cruel, from the perspective of 2018, but then used by scientists as a catch-all term for homosexuality. The idea was that sexual traits were "inverted", so a lesbian woman would have a "masculine soul". Against this kind of backdrop, it's little wonder then the novel centres on the women’s social isolation and desire to be accepted for who they are.

The editor of the Daily Express said he would rather give a child a "phial of prussic acid than this novel". It was banned on publication but eventually republished in 1949.

The Satanic Verses

Salman Rushdie, 1988

Infamous for the fatwa handed down by Ayatollah Khomeini, the religious leader of Iran, to Rushdie for what some in the Islamic world saw as a blasphemous portrayal of the prophet Mohammed. The fatwa ordered the novelist’s death. The book was banned in Iran, India, Bangladesh, Sudan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, Singapore, Venezuela, and Pakistan.

The book is heavy on theology and philosophy and not an easy read, but it remains a bestseller today due to the global controversy it caused, and still causes to this day.

Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi, 2000

Perhaps the greatest graphic novel ever published. Satrapi tells a strongly autobiographical story of a rebellious young girl growing up amid the Islamic revolution in Iran. Beautifully drawn and sparsely written, it is a classic coming of age story, exploring a young girl learning about sex, drugs, school and friendship, played out against a backdrop of religious and political upheaval.

Ironically, it was in America that the book faced its biggest challenge, when various school boards, including Chicago, ordered copies of the book to be removed from schools because it contained "graphic language and images that are not appropriate for general use". The attempted bans did nothing to halt its continuing success around the world.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Erich Maria Remarque, 1929

This classic anti-war novel was banned by the Nazi government. Remarque was a veteran of the trenches and he told a story of searing honesty about the life of ordinary German soldiers fighting in France, and the utter futility of war. In 1933, when the Nazis took power, Remarque’s novel was among the first to be labelled as "degenerate" and burned. Screenings of the film adaption were attacked in Germany by Nazi mobs, cinemas vandalised and audience members beaten up.

Remarque fled to Switzerland, and the Nazis revoked his citizenship. His youngest sister, Elfriede, was found guilty of "undermining morale" by a Nazi People’s Court and beheaded.

Another Country

James Baldwin, 1962

Baldwin grew up gay and black in Harlem in New York in the 1920s and 30s, and went on to become one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century – and this jazz-infused story of life for a group of black and white beatniks in 1950s Manhattan was one of many novels to fall foul of the ultra-conservatism of the Australian Literature Censorship Board.

Another Country deals honestly with sex – both gay and straight – domestic violence, racism, mental illness, drugs and divorce. Other books banned in Australia include: American Psycho, Borstal Boy, Brave New World, and Forever Amber.

The Stud

Jackie Collins, 1969

If she were still alive, the Queen of Hollywood smut would be among the first to admit that her book was no great literary shakes, but banning it? In the 60s? It’s back to Australia and the moral majority down under who found their blue rinses standing up on end with this story of sex, money and nightclubs.

Barbara Cartland, no less, called the book "filthy, disgusting and unnecessary" ... guaranteeing its success. Australia also banned Jackie Collins' other book The World is Full of Married Men.

Doctor Zhivago

Boris Pasternak, 1955

Perhaps the ultimate banned book – this novel was a key battleground in the Cold War. The novel was seen by Soviet censors as inimical to the great socialist project and promptly banned. Copies of the book – which centres on the love affair between the eponymous doctor and his love Lara – were smuggled to the west, and the CIA saw the opportunity to use the book to humiliate the USSR.

Pasternak went on to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in a wounding blow for Moscow, but under extreme pressure at home, including the threat of the gulag, he declined the award. The book was turned into an Oscar-winning movie by David Lean ... cue balalaikas.

Peyton Place

Grace Metalious, 1956

If you’re of a certain age, Peyton Place might be something of a synonym for American soap operas. Don’t be fooled. This novel was real kitchen sink noir. Centring on the lives of ordinary women in a small New England town – and based in some part on the tough life of writer Grace Metalious – the book is filled with incest, abortion, adultery and murder.

It was an instant bestseller ... although neighbours to the north were not happy, and the book was banned in Canada.

Schindler’s Ark

Thomas Keneally, 1982

You’d be forgiven for wondering what on earth there could be in the book which inspired the film Schindler’s List that merits a governmental ban. Well, let’s turn to Lebanon, a nation which managed to shame itself on the world’s stage by banning the book on the grounds of its positive depiction of Jewish people.

The Diary of Anne Frank and Sophie’s Choice were also banned in Lebanon.

Lolita

Vladimir Nabokov, 1955

Another contender for the title of "most banned book", Lolita tells the story of Humbert Humbert, a manipulative and intelligent paedophile who abducts Lolita, the 12-year-old daughter of his landlady, a woman he pretends to love in order to groom her child. The novel is one of the most beautifully written in the English language – even though its author was Russian – yet it still remains among the most shocking books ever published, as the shameless Humbert revels in his sexual crimes.

It was banned in France, Britain, Argentina, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. Today, it is hailed as a transgressive classic.

Harry Potter

JK Rowling 1997-2007

The American Christian Right was never particularly down with witches and wizards in any form. It was probably a hangover from Salem. So across the US the Harry Potter books have been banned and burned with religious glee for promoting witchcraft. It was once called a "masterpiece of Satanic deception".

The battle over the little wizard with the wonky scar on his head became part of the American culture wars. If you like Harry, you’re a liberal; hate Harry and you’re on the side of the Lord. Either way, it all ended up making Edinburgh’s best know resident once of the richest people on the planet.

Ulysses

James Joyce, 1922

The modernist classic which has alternatively tortured and delighted English literature undergrads for generations with its stream-of-consciousness style chronicles the life of Leopold Bloom throughout one day as he wanders around Dublin.

A scene in which Bloom masturbates triggered a ban in the UK, the US and Australia. The novel continues to be celebrated as Ireland’s greatest literary gift to the world.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Frank L Baum, 1900

Who would ever want to ban Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow? Well, sexists actually.

US libraries and schools from the 1930s to the 1950s were far from happy with the "unwholesome" values promoted by the young independent girl protagonist, and not cool with "ungodly" witches, wizards and flying monkeys.

The Bible

The Bible is banned in Saudi Arabia, and you would be well advised not to bring a copy into North Korea unless you fancy disappearing. However, it is not just religious opponents and atheist regimes that have banned the old and new testaments, Christian nations have been banning bibles for years ... if they were written in the wrong language.

Here in Britain, in the Middle Ages, owning a bible in vernacular English rather than Latin could end up with you tied to a stake and burned as a heretic.

The Koran

The Islamic holy text was banned by Chairman Mao in communist China, and remains banned in North Korea. Various extremists have also tried to ban the book in other countries over the years. In 1985, a writ was filed in India in an attempt to ban the Koran, and in 2013, a Russian court censored the text under so-called "extremism" laws.

Spycatcher

Peter Wright, 1987

Subtitled "the candid autobiography of a senior intelligence officer", this memoir of former MI5 officer Peter Wright was a thorn in the side of Mrs Thatcher. It reveals Soviet moles in the Security Service, talks of MI6 assassination plots, and lifts the lid on spycraft that was meant to stay top secret.

The UK Government immediately banned the book, but because the ruling was only obtained in an English court, the book was legally available in Scotland, and other countries overseas. English newspapers were also gagged from reporting on the book’s contents, while Scottish papers were not.

The issue became an important battle over freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Finally, the book was allowed to go on sale when law lords said overseas publication meant revelations in the book were no longer secrets. The European Court of Human Rights also castigated the UK government for gagging the press. The book sold two million copies.