The kind of book you'd let your servants read

The narrator speaks of her sister's book, famed for its salacious content...

People snuck off to Stratford or London or Toronto even, and obtained their copies on the sly, as was the custom then with condoms. Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought of opening a novel before. There's nothing like a shovelful of dirt to encourage literacy.

Margaret Atwood. The Blind Assassin