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On The Table Read, “the best book magazine in the UK“, Sex And Cycling by Stephen Holden explores sexual desire and different values, as Edmund wants permanency while Leela lives life through her sexuality.
Sex And Cycling
The historical erotica, set just after World War 2, Sex And Cycling by Stephen Holden, is an erotic and character-driven story. Centering on the mindsets and unconsummated attraction of the two protagonists, eighteen year old Edmund and sixteen year old Leela, Sex And Cycling explores the conflict between the characters, their families, and their differing values.
Synopsis Of Sex And Cycling
Leela Drake, a 16 year-old schoolgirl , begins a friendship and some years later a love affair with an 18 years old A-level student, Edmund Rice. He is already in a relationship with a woman, Dorothy, somewhat older and more mature than he, but for a short while he retains his attachment to both of them. He is restrained in his sexual desire for the young girl as he feels she needs to mature more before she makes the “ultimate” commitment of physical love. It also becomes clear that while the backgrounds of Edmund and Leela are middle-class in terms of income, their parents have very different styles of life, and different perceptions of their relationship.
They are parted when Edmund is called up to do his two-years National Service, which takes place in Austria, and so he sees little of Leela while he is away. He has a comparatively interesting time in the Army, and in some ways reluctantly decides to return to civilian life. For her, the waiting is romantic and magnifies her desire and love for him. He too finds his feelings for her have not diminished. Soon after his return they make love for the first time.
It soon becomes clear that Leela and Edmund also have views of their affair which are widely apart. Edmund, who likes to picture himself as an idealist, believes in the seriousness and permanency of anything of worth. Leela feels that the moment is just that – and cannot be captured again, however deeply she or Edmund felt at that moment. She is fiercely passionate and sensual, and lives her love through her sexual love as much as in any other way. Edmund is just as physically involved with her, but wants more than merely the experience they have at the moments of intercourse.
This incompatibility is heightened when Leela discovers she is pregnant, and eventually the couple decide to end their intimacy. Their baby, a boy, is born and Edmund takes much interest in him and spends time looking after him. He is fascinated by having his own child, although he still hankers after some greater, wider experience and plans to go abroad again.
Their families are affected by their affair, but in a great variety of ways, reflecting their differing outlook on life and morality.
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is 78 years old and lives in Cornwall, with his wife, Elena, two tom-cats and his blue and gold Macaw.
Interested in natural history and wild plants, he has created a small meadow in his garden to encourage wildlife and is a vegan of many years standing.
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Sex and Cycling is available in Kindle format (£2.39 or via Kindle Unlimited) on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3upbylY
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