The Indiscreet Jewels
{{Short description|1748 novel by Denis Diderot}}
{{infobox book |
| name = The Indiscreet Jewels
| title_orig = Les Bijoux indiscrets
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| image = BijouxIndicrets.jpg
| caption =
| author = Denis Diderot
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| country = France
| language = French
| series =
| genre =
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| release_date = 1748
| english_release_date =
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The Indiscreet Jewels (or The Indiscreet Toys, or The Talking Jewels; {{langx|fr|Les Bijoux indiscrets}}) is the first novel by Denis Diderot, published anonymously in 1748. It is an allegory that portrays Louis XV of France as Mangogul, Sultan of Congo, who owns a magic ring that makes women's vaginas ("jewels") talk. The character of Mirzoza represents Louis XV's mistress Madame de Pompadour.{{Cite book|title=Mystifying the Monarch: Studies on Discourse, Power, and History|date=2006|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|others=Deploige, Jeroen., Deneckere, Gita, 1964-|isbn=9789053567678|location=[Amsterdam]|oclc=85838955}} Diderot portrayed Pompadour in a flattering light in The Indiscreet Jewels, most likely to ensure her support for his Encyclopedie.{{Cite book|title=Lycée, ou Cours de littérature ancienne et moderne: Tome 2|last=de La Harpe|first=Jean François|publisher=Et. Ledoux et Tenré|location=Paris|pages=371}}
Plot summary
Sultan Mangogul of Congo is bored with life at court and suspects his mistress Mirzoza of infidelity. A genie presents him with a magical ring that has unique properties. When the ring is rubbed and pointed at the vagina of any woman the vagina begins speaking about its amorous experiences, to the confusion and consternation of its owner.{{cite book|title=Diderot|author=Otis Fellows|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|pages=44|year=1977}}{{cite book|title=Diderot:A Critical Biography|author=P.N. Furbank|publisher=Twayne|page=44|year=1992}}{{refn|group=note|Bijou, which means "jewel", was used as slang for the vagina in 18th-century France. }} The Sultan uses the ring about thirty times, usually at a dinner or other social gathering, and on these occasions the Sultan is typically visible to the woman.{{cite book|title=The Story of Civilization Volume 9:The Age of Voltaire|author=Will Durant|publisher=Simon&Schuster|pages=627|year=1965}} However, since the ring has the additional property of making its owner invisible when required, a few of the sexual experiences are recounted through direct observation, as the Sultan makes himself invisible in the unsuspecting woman's boudoir.{{cite book|title=The Discreet Charms of the Exotic: Fictions of the Harem in Eighteenth-Century France in Exoticism in the Enlightenment (ed. George Sebastian Rousseau and Roy Porter)|author=Suzanne Rodin Pucci|publisher=Manchester University Press|pages=156|year=1990}}
Notes
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English translations
{{reflist|group=note}}
- From Their Lips to His Ear. Pocket Erotica Series #6 (New Urge Editions/Black Scat Books, {{ISBN|978-1735615912}}, 2020)
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Links
- Les bijoux indiscrets, tome premier (French) [https://books.google.com/books?id=tLfJa2LBWgwC&dq=bijoux+indiscrets&pg=PP6 from Google Books]
- Les Bijoux Indiscrets: or, The Indiscreet Toys, volume I (English) [https://books.google.com/books?id=6eJNAAAAcAAJ&q=bijoux+indiscrets from Google Books]
{{Denis Diderot}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indiscreet Jewels, The}}
Category:Novels by Denis Diderot
Category:Works published anonymously