The Callipyges. The Whole Philosophy and Secret Mystery of Female Flagellation Now for the First Time Fully Exposed by Four English Ladies. With Experiments ... the Proper Conduct of this noble Pastime.

The Callipyges is a fabulous example of late nineteenth-century erotica focusing on female flagellation. It is a translation of a two volume French work, Les Callipyges, ou Les Délices de la Verge, Par E.D., which was published in Amsterdam by Augustin Brancart in 1892. Charles Carrington published the English translation in 1901 in a limited edition of 250 copies. The authorship is uncertain: it has been attributed to Edmund Dumoulin and to a writer by the name of Desjardins.

The Callipyges’ subtitle highlights its focus on female flagellation: The Whole Philosophy and Secret Mystery of Female Flagellation Now for the First Time Fully Exposed by Four English Ladies. With Experiments and detailed instructions as to the Proper Conduct of this noble Pastime. Six beautiful young women drawn from the ranks of the aristocracy form a whipping club, The Callipyges, and present a series of lectures with demonstrations on a range of subjects pertaining to the pleasures of flogging. Lecture titles such as on the uses and pleasures of the rod, on drawers, on modesty and shame, on various modes of whipping, on voluptuous acts, on severity in punishing, on family discipline, and on mutual chastisement between lady friends provide a good idea of the terrain covered.