The ObserverBooks This article is more than 15 years old

Joy of Sex gets makeover for generation that found Viagra

This article is more than 15 years old

The Old favourites are still there: the 'Viennese oyster', 'pattes d'araignée' and the 'flanquette' all stand the test of time. But 35 years after Dr Alex Comfort introduced the world to these particular joys of sex, his seminal manual on how to pep up love lives is itself being spiced up to appeal to a 21st-century readership.

Modern lovers will be introduced to the 'Venus butterfly', the sensual delights of bodypaint and 'love maps', as well as the challenging discovery that there are A- and U-spots to look for, as well as the famous G-spot.

The New Joy of Sex, out in September, is described as a modern take on the original. The new edition attempts to replicate the original 1972 cover of a semi-clad woman in the embrace of a hirsute Seventies man - who this time is beardless. The pose is the same, but the photograph is tastefully blurred and carefully censored, with critically positioned text to ensure it can be displayed on the family bookshelf without raising too many eyebrows. For a previous edition, the publishers opted for an abstract, purple-tinted, non-explicit cover. This time they wanted to get as close to the original as possible while also giving it a contemporary feel.

'It has been completely updated. It is taking in new material to reflect how sex and sexual relationships have evolved in the last 35 years,' said Jane Smith, head of marketing and publicity at the publisher, Mitchell Beazley. 'But we wanted to ensure that the book does not lose its roots. It is, at core, a family reference book. So this new version still includes all that factual information, but many new subjects have been added.'

So readers will be enlightened on HRT, Viagra and on therapy for sexual problems. For the less inhibited, there are sections on how to incorporate phone sex and technology into the physical relationship. Sex shops, striptease and fantasy sections are included. The book retains its 'cordon bleu guide to love-making' theme, with sections on ingredients, appetisers, main courses, sauces and pickles.

Comfort, an academic, died in 2000, but his son, political journalist Nicholas Comfort, has overseen the revision work along with relationship psychologist Susan Quilliam.

The latest edition contains 120 new photographs and drawings. 'It is a mixture of photographs and illustration, because you cannot show a photograph of penetrative sex, as it then becomes pornographic,' said Smith. 'So readers will see the photograph of a sensual moment, but the actual positions will be illustrated.'

The Joy of Sex has sold eight million copies since it made the earth move for its publishers. But it has had to move with the times. 'The reasons for unfulfilling sexual relations today are different to those that Dr Comfort's first audience experienced,' says the publisher. Spin-off books are now being considered, including The Joy of Sex Foreplay.

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