If you’ve been following book news in the past week you’ll have read about erotic romance ebook publisher Total-E-Bound’s new initiative: giving classic romance novels an ‘erotic makeover’. Inspired by the success of the Fifty Shades series, the publisher has decided to add some spice to several classic titles. The books, which are beloved of women worldwide – Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Northanger Abbey – are being released with additional erotic scenes penned by romance authors. According to the Independent:

Some original fans of Jane Eyre might be unhappy to discover that the female protagonist has “explosive sex with Mr Rochester” in the publisher’s erotic edition. In Wuthering Heights, heroine Catherine Earnshaw “enjoys bondage sessions” with Heathcliff.

Of course, under UK law, these classic English works are outside of the period of copyright restriction, which means anyone can publish – and play with – the words.

Those reacting to the news fall into two, diametrically opposed, camps: those who enjoy creative exploration, and those who believe touching such timeless novels is sacrilegious. I have to confess, I’m with the latter camp. Novels like Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights have been my firm favourites since my teenage years, and I think much of their charm comes from their innocence, from the lack of eroticism. The writing leaves much to the imagination, and I see nothing wrong with that. We respect the era in which these women were writing, the societal norms they had to follow, the constraints they faced compared to how we may write today. Were the original authors able to see their works added to in this way, I think they would be shocked. For how much did the Brontë sisters and Jane Austen know of sensuality and sex? Of the three, only one married.

The question, I think, comes down to one of respect for a work of art. Such is the popularity of these classic English novels that I don’t think it is a stretch to class them as art. Would we re-sculpt Michelangelo’s David to modernise his hairstyle? Or add a section to a Beethoven symphony to make it more in keeping with modern-day rap or rock or pop music?

What do you think? I’d be interested to hear your views on the subject.