Tropic of Cancer and the Censors: A Case Study and Bibliographic Guide to the Literature

Henry Miller published Tropic of Cancer in Paris in 1934. He was convinced that it was a work of genius, and over the next several years a wide range of writers and critics agreed with him. But to official censors in England and America, the novel was nothing more than a particularly disgusting piece of pornography, too obscene to be allowed into either country. In this article, Kincaid and Koger trace the history of the novel from its inception in 1932 to its vindication by the United States judicial system 30 years later. The accompanying annotated bibliography lists the books and articles essential to an understanding of that history and Miller’s philosophy of literature.