A million words of Victorian sin, and nobody knows who wrote them.
The story of the sexual memoirs of a Victorian gentleman who revealed himself as Walter. He documented his liaisons in a frank series of journals which ran to eleven volumes and 1.5 million words, titled 'My Secret Life'. Within the journals he documented details of his liaisons, the names of the women, their social standing, and their conversation. For a century, this material was considered obscene, its publication illegal. Today, however, it's seen as a unique insight into Victorian social and sexual mores, providing valuable information on class, gender, marriage, fidelity and morality. This film looks at the dark life of 'Walter', and examines the way his journals have shaped contemporary understanding of Victorian society. The film also examines the mystery that has surrounded this story - who exactly was 'Walter'? The film asks whether he could have been Henry Ashbee, a wealthy London gentleman who was obsessed with sex and attained a pornographic library of over 15,000 volumes.
Writing
Balances prurient material with genuine scholarly weight.
Production
Evocative reenactments that avoid exploitation.
Director
Rob Rohrer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The eleven-volume 'My Secret Life' was privately printed in only six copies; most were destroyed, making surviving editions extraordinarily rare.
Henry Ashbee's personal library formed the core of what became the British Library's Private Case collection of erotica—material locked away from public access until the 1970s.
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