The Penguin Book of Erotic Stories by Women brings together stories on erotic themes that have been written in the last hundred years by women from all over the world - from Japan, France, Botswana, Peru and Russia as well as Britain and the USA. They have been chosen because they are underpinned by the sexual passion and love defined in the dictionary as erotic, and also because they are written from a woman's point of view. The authors have rejected the tired conventions and attitudes often associated with erotica and have developed new ways of writing about desire, while reflecting the values and mores of their time. Less than a decade ago, the existence of women's erotica was not widely acknowledged; instead, it was generally assumed that erotica was by and for men. Now this anthology acknowledges and confirms a woman's right to shape and define her own sexuality, rather than having it shaped and defined by men. It does not simply celebrate desire and sex, but shows that many sexual relationships are riddled with complex and difficult issues of power. This is a collection that demands serious attention.