MisterBus Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I'm interested in finding out which books have been banned in the UK (or are still banned). A trawl of the internet finds lists of books banned in various states of America but which ones have been specifically banned in the UK - Spycatcher and Satanic Verses I presume for starters. I don't mind if it was banned last year or centuries ago. And do British libraries have a list of 'banned books' that they won't stock? I have a gut reaction that banning anything can't be good but I'm open minded - I would tend to think a book entitled "How to make a bomb" probably should be banned from general sale in the UK or any other country! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arukiyomi Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I have a gut reaction that banning anything can't be good but I'm open minded That mind v gut conflict is interesting... specifically banned in the UK - Spycatcher and Satanic Verses I presume for starters I wasn't aware that Satanic Verses has ever been banned in the UK. That's where I picked up my copy a few years ago. Lady Chatterley's Lover was banned in the UK until the 1970s I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Seeing as it was The Church (more specifically the Catholic Church) who seemed to ban most things, I would tend to start with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Books do furnish a room Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Satanic Verses was never banned in the UK. I bought my copy not long after it came out; the shops were a little nervous about putting it on the shelves and kept it under the counter. Sold in brown paper bags! Lady Chatterley was banned until about 1963 following a famous court case. Philip Larkin famously said that sex was invented in 1983 when Lady Chatterley was published. Ulysses was initially banned in the UK. There is a book called the Anarchists Cookbook which pretty tells you how to create general mayhem in society, including bomb making. I once saw it openly on sale in Waterstones and I believe it is still generally available. Not much gets banned these days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 I don't think UK censorship laws actually include books do they? I think if a book was particularly horrible (like how to make a bomb) book shops would probably refuse to sell it anyway, so I guess its like self-censorship. I'm pretty sure you can request to have a book removed from a public library if you think it's offensive, but they don't have to remove it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Not sure about bomb-making... there is certainly some tips and recipes in Fight Club Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 (edited) Interesting topic by the way!, I found this: http://en.wikipedia...._by_governments I can only see five books banned in the UK, and three of which were novels... The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall, Banned in 1928 due to lesbian theme, republished in 1949. and Ulysses by James Joyce which was banned for about a decade. The last being Lady Chatterley's Lover of course. It also says that 1984 was nearly banned by the UK in 1960. Edited April 9, 2012 by Timstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Got me really interested in this now, acccording to amazon Tropic of Cancer was banned in the UK for 30 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 The only book I actually specifically remember being banned was Spycatcher, and even that isn't now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milo MInderbinder Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 (edited) I'm interested in finding out which books have been banned in the UK (or are still banned). A trawl of the internet finds lists of books banned in various states of America but which ones have been specifically banned in the UK - Spycatcher and Satanic Verses I presume for starters. I don't mind if it was banned last year or centuries ago. And do British libraries have a list of 'banned books' that they won't stock? I have a gut reaction that banning anything can't be good but I'm open minded - I would tend to think a book entitled "How to make a bomb" probably should be banned from general sale in the UK or any other country! Hi MB. I can't think of any that are currently banned. Off topic: Any chance of a short review of the Adams book (mentioned in your profile) when you have finished it? I always wondered if he was a good writer. Edited April 10, 2012 by Milo MInderbinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterBus Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 Thanks for the replies so far. I think I need to look closer at how books are banned (legal, religious, political correctness etc). And yes Milo, I'll do a review of Gerry Adams' book shortly. UK folks of a certain age will remember Thatcher deprived him of the 'oxygen of publicity' by banning him from speaking on British TV - a tactic which totally backfired since broadcasters just used an actor to speak his words! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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