The Autobiography of a Flea
The 1887 Victorian erotic novel narrated by a flea observing its owner's corruptions. Published anonymously; the author remains unidentified.
- Original byline
- Anonymous
- Published
- 1887
- Form
- Novels
- Authorship
- Still unknown
- Reason for anonymity
- Propriety
- Copyright
- Public domain
- Reference
- Wikipedia · Wikidata
The authorship story
The Autobiography of a Flea was issued clandestinely in London in 1887, its narrator a philosophical flea reporting the seductions and hypocrisies of clergy and gentry from its unique vantage. Like all Victorian erotica it appeared with no author, and while the trade attributed it at various times to a London lawyer, no identification has been established in the documented record. The device of the inhuman narrator gave the genre one of its few enduring titles. Its anonymity, protective and permanent, is typical of the entire literature it belongs to.
Questions readers ask
Who wrote The Autobiography of a Flea?
Nobody knows. No author for The Autobiography of a Flea has been identified in the documented record.
Can I read The Autobiography of a Flea for free?
Yes. The Autobiography of a Flea is in the public domain and the full text is free to read at the Internet Archive.
When was The Autobiography of a Flea published?
The Autobiography of a Flea was published in 1887 without an author’s name.
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