The Romance of Lust is the first-person story of Charlie Roberts, the most famous hero of the Victorian sexual underground. An eye-opening look at the twisted paths eros takes when a society goes too far in repressing the sex drive. The novel begins with “There were three of us — Mary, Eliza, and myself.” Charlie describes his sexual initiation as an adolescent — as he is “approaching fifteen”. He catalogs his sexual experiences including incest with his sisters Eliza and Mary, sex with his governesses, and his later sexual exploits with various male and female friends, and acquaintances.