Leopold von Sacher-Masoch 
Venus in Furs 

The novel ‘Venus in Furs’ was written by an Austrian writer by the name of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. The book pulls different happenings from the author’s life, such as female dominance. Published in 1870, the novel gained notoriety and a degree of immortality for its author when the word ‘masochism’ – derived from his name – entered the vocabulary of psychiatry. This remains a classic literary statement on sexual submission and control.



‘Venus in Furs’ describes the obsessions of Severin von Kusiemski, a European nobleman who desires to be enslaved to a woman. Severin finds his ideal of voluptuous cruelty in the merciless Wanda von Dunajew. This is a passionate and powerful portrayal of one man’s struggle to enlighten and instruct himself and others in the realm of desire.