History tells us that the Victorian age was one of prim and proper prudery and strict adherence to social norms. However, if the letters collected in the purportedly semi-autobiographical volume The New Epicurean are any indication, there may have been a lot more going on in Victorian bedrooms than we think. Sir Charles and his wife Lady Celia, the principal figures in these erotic tales, tell us all about how they seduced a series of nubile young ladies and convinced them to participate in a series of increasingly elaborate group activities.