The Petticoat Dominant

Following the bungled seduction of his beautiful tutor, Charles, Lord Linwood, is sent to Holywell Hall, a magnificent country estate, to be taught by an imperious French governess, Mademoiselle Diane d’Erébe. Outraged at his placement under feminine rule, Charles experiences a profound sense of abasement. His humiliation is exacerbated through subjection to the discipline of the rod and enforced cross-dressing. Submission, however, transforms into a path of love and exquisite pleasure.

The Petticoat Dominant was first published in 1898 by Leonard Smithers and Duringe. It was probably published and printed in Paris. The name of the author, M. Le Comte du Bouleau, is a pseudonym. Authorship is attributed to an English lawyer, Stanislas Matthew de Rhodès (1857-1932), who is also credited with writing The Yellow Room (1891) and Gynecocracy (1893). It is worth noting, though, that Gynecocracy, which The Petticoat Dominant’s original full title cites and suggests is a companion work, has also been attributed to the English psychologist, Henry Havelock Ellis (1859-1939).